Ipswich Town: Where does winning run sit in club history?

The run

Before we get to delving deep on the dusty shelves of club history, let's take a moment to reflect on the current run because, frankly, it feels good.

Since that disappointing 0-0 draw at Bristol Rovers on Valentine's night, Town have ripped off seven wins in a row. Read that again. Seven.

Football, bloody hell.

Town's winning run started against Forest Green Rovers (Image: Steve Waller)

They started by beating up on the strugglers. 4-0 against Forest Green - the side who've just slayed Sheffield Wednesday, by the way - then 1-0 at MK Dons, 4-0 against Burton and 3-0 against Accrington Stanley.

Four games against sides battling relegation, four wins. Lovely stuff.

But the real test was always going to come after that. And the Blues, in a fashion which we are simply unaccustomed to in recent times, have just marched on.

Promotion-chasing Bolton were beaten 2-0 at their place - a real statement - before Town returned home to sweep in-form Shrewsbury Town aside 2-0. 

And most recently, after a week off due to the conversation-causing postponement of their trip to Barnsley, they went to Pride Park and rolled over the Rams of Derby County, winning 2-0.

Seven games. Seven wins. 18 goals for. None against. Remarkable.

John Duncan was the man in charge last time Town won seven league games on the bounce in 1989 (Image: Archant)

The last time

In winning seven straight in the league, Town have done something which they haven't managed for 34 years.

And then, it was split over two seasons. John Duncan's Blues finished the 1988-89 season on a tear, winning their final five Division Two games.

Starting on April 22, they beat West Brom 2-1 at home, followed by a 4-0 tonking of Birmingham City.

Then came two 1-0 away wins at Plymouth and Brighton, respectively, before ending the campaign with a 2-0 home triumph against Blackburn Rovers to finish eighth in the table.

They started the following season with a couple of wins too, 3-1 over Barnsley at home before a 4-2 victory at Sunderland.

Sheffield United ended the run at Bramall Lane on August 26 with a 2-0 victory.

The Town side of 1953/54 were the last to win seven straight league games in he same season - and they won the league (Image: Dave Kindred)

The last time part two

So, 1989 is the last time the Blues won seven straight in the league. But for the last time they did it in the same season, you have to go a lot further back.

All the way to 1953/54, in fact. Scott Duncan's Blues, plying their trade in Division Three (South), had quite the season on their way to winning the league.

That included winning eight straight games between September 23 and October 31, part of a run which saw them go unbeaten for 14 matches. 

They started with a 2-1 home win over Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic, then won 2-1 at Brighton and 3-2 at Bournemouth and Boscombe.

Watford were beaten 1-0 next, followed by a 3-2 triumph at Bristol City and a 4-0 home thumping of Aldershot.

Swindon Town were next, duly seen off 2-1 away, before a 3-0 home victory over Walsall.

A 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury on November 7, 1953, ended the winning streak.

Town finished that season by going unbeaten in nine, including winning streaks of four and three matches.  

Bobby Robson's UEFA Cup winners hold the club record for consecutive wins with nine in 1981/82, the season after they lifted the European trophy (Image: Archant)

The record

Town's best-ever winning streak came, unsurprisingly, in the golden era under Sir Bobby Robson.

In the 1981-82 campaign, Bobby's Blues won nine in a row - in the league, FA Cup and League Cup - between November 28 and January 23. 

Fresh from winning the UEFA Cup, Robson's men started their winning charge with a 2-0 win over Manchester City in Division One before four straight away victories.

They were 3-2 at Bradford in the League Cup, 1-0 at Middlesbrough in the league, 3-2 at Everton in the League Cup and another 3-2, this time at Birmingham in the FA Cup.

Then came another 3-2 win over Birmingham, at home in the league, before a 4-2 win at Coventry in Division One, a 2-1 victory over Watford in the League Cup and a 3-0 win at Luton in the FA Cup.

The streak was ended by a 3-1 defeat at Notts County on January 30, and the Blues actually then went winless in five games.

Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself when this run ends. But can McKenna's men make it ten in a row and break the record?

Christian Walton hasn't conceded a goal in almost 13 hours (Image: Ross Halls)

Blue wall

In addition to those seven straight wins, Town have kept eight consecutive clean sheets, a record which is perhaps even more impressive than the winning run.

And that puts them top of the charts in Europe this season, ahead of some huge clubs.

Town's current streak of 776 minutes without conceding is the best run this season in all of UEFA's 'top five' leagues - the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga - plus the EFL.

It's six minutes better than Italian giants Juventus have managed, and a long way ahead of the other contenders.

Preston are third on 646 minutes, a little Spanish outfit called Barcelona fourth on 636 and Lazio fifth on 620.

Americans will tell you that defence wins championships, so Town are looking good.

George Hirst celebrates a goal in the win at Bolton. Town are League One's top scorers (Image: Ross Halls)

Other pleasing stats

While we're feeling chipper about things, let's finish with a few more tasty stats which show how well Town are doing.

The Blues are joint fourth in English football for the fewest goals conceded at home so far this season with 12, level with Chelsea.

Leyton Orient and Manchester United top the list with just eight, followed by Liverpool and Newcastle with nine and Bolton with 11 - and two of those were against Town, of course.

McKenna's men are also League One's leading scorers with 74 strikes, seven better than second-best Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle, the only sides above them.

Their defence is also the joint-stingiest in the third tier, with 31 goals against, tying the Owls and Bolton.

And their goal difference is also best in the league at 43, seven better than Wednesday.

Oh, and Town's xG (expected goals) is also the best in League One at 2.2 a game, while their xGA (expected goals against) is top of the pops as well at just 0.96 a game.

Putting all of the above stats and results together, one can only conclude that Town are on fire - and very well-placed to claim one of those two automatic promotion spots.