Come on you...reds!

  

WHY has it been 29 years since Ipswich Town lifted the FA Cup?

Could it be because of the colour of their shirts?

New research has today revealed clubs who play in red are far more likely to win the FA Cup than those playing in blue.

The research was carried out by Leeds University for the club's sponsor E. ON, which sponsors the FA Cup and the Super Blues.

It comes on the day red shirted Manchester United take on blue shirted Chelsea at Wembley in the final of this year's competition.

And in an added blow to the power company, whose own branding is coloured red, researchers found that the most successful companies had blue logos!

However, E.ON spokesman Nick Sandham dismissed any suggestions of swapping colours.

He said: “If you look at the last ten years, only four clubs have won the FA Cup and three of them wear red.

“If you go further back red-shirted teams are much more likely to win than those in blue.

“But of course with our association with Ipswich Town we are well aware that is not a hard-and-fast rule and there would be a riot if anyone suggested playing in red!”

A spokesman for Ipswich Town said: “Perhaps that explains why we haven't been that successful in the FA Cup in recent years but we'll always aim to be the exception to the rule.

“Of course, our main focus is a return to the Premiership and if we could tie blue and white ribbons to an E.ON sponsored FA Cup, that would be the perfect outcome.”

The research showed if red teams rule the sports field, blue is the colour for successful companies.

It is the most popular colour for corporate logos of some of the UK's biggest firms, including Unilever, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland and ICI.

Stephen Scales, from the University of Leeds' Colour and Imaging Group, which conducted the research, said: “It's already been proven that the colour of a sports shirt may be an important factor in players' performance.

“When it comes to business, we are all part of a company team and so colour could have a similar effect on how we all work.

“However, wearing red obviously doesn't mean teams will score more goals, or having a blue brand doesn't guarantee business success, but it could be that people subconsciously adopt the characteristics of these colours and in turn become more successful.”

N Do you believe colours can influence football teams' success? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk



When Ipswich Town won the FA Cup in 1978 they wore blue shirts without a sponsor.

The team, captained by Mick Mills, beat Arsenal 1-0, Roger Osborne scoring the winner.