The 1980 – 1981 season proved to be a famous one in the history of Ipswich town football club as they won the UEFA Cup at the end of the campaign, defeating AZ 67 Alkmaar in the final. The Ipswich side consisted of Cooper, Mick mills, McCall, Thijssen, Russell Osman, Terry Butcher, Mark Wark, Muhren, Alan Brazil, Mariner and gates as the Ipswich boys won the final 5-4 on aggregate. They also nearly won the league title at the end of the season as they were involved in a title race for the majority of the campaign with Aston Villa and finished off in second position, their finest finish since the year 1962. In what proved to be the last season that saw Bobby Robson in charge at Ipswich Town FC, they finished the 1981 – 1982 campaign of in second place once again as they came close to winning the championship for a second successive year.
Bobby Ferguson took charge at the club in 1982 and he would go on to spend five years in the job. Ipswich saw a gradual decline in their league fortunes over the following three years as they finished the seasons off in ninth, twelfth and seventeenth positions respectively. They reached the semi finals of the league cup during the 1984 – 1985 season and narrowly lost to local rival Norwich city, 2-1 on aggregate. Paul Cooper was in fine form for Ipswich and 1985 was famous for the arrival of new Ipswich football player, Tony Humes.