No, they often did but fell short. Jones was the one manager who was incapable of taking us up but at the time would have been more than capable of keeping us up. His teams were good to watch, dull games are now the norm, they weren't back then.
As for the 10s, a shit decade on and off the pitch. Highlight was the League Cup Final. Probably the most entertaining game of the decade followed by the 3-2 win over Man C. Apart from that, it's a blur of dross.