It's 40 years since Bobby Robson's Ipswich team won the FA Cup. For a unique perspective on that amazing season, and particularly that incredible day at Wembley, we spoke to Gerry Harrison - the voice of football on Anglia TV for many years, including 1978.

1978 was a strange year.  Bobby had slowly been building the team and the squad.  The previous season, Ipswich had finished 3^rd – Trevor Whymark was the leading scorer, John Wark was banging them in and Paul Mariner had made a big impression.  But the league form in this next season was surprisingly inconsistent.   There was a great contest with Barcelona in the UEFA Cup which they lost on penalties – but by the time the FA Cup started they were mid-table.   And some of their ties early on were against the sort of opposition you could easily slip up against – not Hartlepool at home perhaps – but Cardiff away and then Bristol Rovers away.   That was the first game we covered for ITV.  Now things were starting to get serious – the 5^th round – wintry conditions, terrible pitch, terrible ground, Bristol Rovers were really up for it and they nearly won the game. Robin Turner equalised and forced a replay which Ipswich won quite easily – again one we covered.  Ipswich had got away with that one and we started to think that it was looking like a serious Cup run.

Then there was the 6^th round tie against Millwall, where Ipswich played really well.  Difficult ground, always tough opposition, a 6-1 win was impressive. But in the background, their League form was dismal.   One of the reasons for that was that Trevor Whymark was seriously injured against Norwich on Boxing Day.  I felt really sorry for Trevor – he never really got back into the side and eventually missed the Cup Final.  That injury gave David Geddis a chance and he played really well in the Cup Final, but they missed Trevor in the league particularly. But they got the bit between their teeth in the Cup and everyone was getting excited about it.

TV coverage of games was a bit of a lottery.  ITV and BBC chose a number of games on a national basis.  If one of the ITV games was in our region I covered it.  If one of our teams was playing outside the region and it was selected by ITV then I could cover it – or take the pictures from that region while we covered a game in our region.   Following so far?   So sometimes – if the BBC picked Ipswich for instance, we obviously couldn’t cover it.  If ITV picked no games in our region – then we could film with news cameras – but not full outside broadcast facilities.

For the UEFA cup it was easier.  It was still a toss-up between ITV and BBC but fortunately in the UEFA winning Cup run we covered all the home ties – but not the second leg of the Final.

When Ipswich played WBA in the semi-final at Highbury they played really well, and looked like a side who meant business. It was a strange contrast with the League form – they won only two of their last 14 League games, yet had really come alive in the FA Cup.

Probably injuries had a lot to do with that. In the run-up to the Final there were a lot of concerns about who would actually be fit enough to play.  Although Russell Osman and Terry Butcher were on the way through the ranks they weren’t quite ready yet.  Allan Hunter missed a few games – and Kevin Beattie played very few League games that season.  

Beattie was an extraordinary character. Before matches I used to wait in the foyer outside the dressing rooms at Portman Road because I wanted to check the teams with the referee. I remember one game, Bobby Robson came through and said “Beattie’s not playing, he’s injured his back”. About five minutes later, Beattie walks in. I said, “I thought you weren’t playing”. He replied, “Nah, I can’t just be sitting around at home – I’m going to play”. And he did.  Sometimes Kevin had to be protected from himself – but if he wanted to play, he played! And despite his list of injuries, he always made an impression.

On the day of the Final, I was working on the network programme for ITV – those were the days when Cup Final programmes went on all day! My job was to be with the Ipswich team at the hotel and do interviews with the guys before they got on the coach. I remember speaking to Bobby and to a few players.

I think I watched the game from the TV gantry.  Then about 5 minutes before the end I made my way down to the interview area.  One of the dangers of that was that you could miss something during those last five minutes! Fortunately, in that final that didn’t happen.  We’d wait in the interview area after the game rather than going onto the pitch and talk to the players. Sometimes with the modern TV coverage, they’re so keen to get back to the pundits in the studio after the game, or to a commercial break, that you miss the emotion and the reaction of the players.   I don’t think interviewers need to go on to the pitch too quickly. Time pressures usually mean the analysis of the game starts very quickly – but it’s a real shame if you don’t see those immediate responses of the players. It’s part of the story of the game.

After the game, my job was to do the post-match interviews with the Ipswich players. Because they’d won, it was much easier to than for the guys who were covering Arsenal.

I then had to do a few bits and pieces around the team.  After that I had to get back to Ipswich quickly so that we could make arrangements to broadcast the parade and the civic reception the following day, which we covered live. I remember interviewing the Cobbolds on the Sunday – I think they’d had a drink or two to celebrate, like a few others there!  Steve Rider and I covered that event between us – we just had to keep it moving. It was a live transmission and we were cutting between interviewing players on the balcony, scenes of the crowds and interviews in the main reception area.  It was a pretty lively day.

During the game, although they were the underdogs, they were comfortably the better side. But when they kept hitting the post you started to worry that they’d missed their chance.  Then Roger Osborne popped up with his unlikely goal. And made a bit of history.  So a strange season – but it was the foundation for what came next. 

This is an excerpt from a full and fascinating interview with Gerry Harrison about his memories of covering Ipswich for Anglia TV during the Robson era, which will appear in the first Turnstile Blues of next season. Many thanks to Gerry, and also to Phil Moor.