Ipswich Town 2010/11: It started off well, then got progressively worse

So there we go. A 4-2 loss to Leicester City and our miserable season has finally finished. Some of the Town players were probably thinking of their holidays abroad even before kick-off. Some of the other Town players were probably thinking of other lucrative contract deals, taking them away from Suffolk. It's a far cry from where we were mid September.

It's difficult to believe that we were once second. In fact, it was so long ago that I don't really remember. I did, however, take a screenshot of the table in a mild delirium at Ipswich actually doing well: 

The one game that we'd lost was to QPR and that was the night that we were served a dose of reality. In order to get out of this division, we'd have to be slick on the counter attack, take our chances and pretty much play better than we have done for the past 5 years. I know I hark on about Darren Bent and the like, but those are scars we have never recovered from. I know I keep harking on about them, but we have never been able to replace the goals we once had.

At the moment, we have a striker that I could probably out run, Tamas Priskin and an 18 year old capable of wonder goals, but who's still growing and requires nurturing properly (hence why, I believe, it'll be better for him to remain at Portman Road and really hope that he does for the moment).

After the start, which was superb compared to the previous season where we didn't win for 16 games, things seemed to reach a blip around mid Ocotber. By mid November, it still seemed to be a blip, as we recovered from three league losses on the bounce to beat Millwall and Sheffield United (I was there, which makes a victory even more incredible), but little did we know what was lurking around the corner. Derby, then Barnsley (where the crowd ironically cheered Barnsley's football), then Hull beat us. Three losses in a row. Again. Then came the big one, the East Anglian derby, the first for a season. Excitement was building, annoyance was growing that the BBC had handed the job of presenting the programme to a Norwich supporter, Town fans hoped for a performance, Norwich fans were looking for revenge.

And that's exactly what they got. Holt got a hat-trick in Norwich's 4, Delaney got sent off, Darren O'Dea was awful, the Town players didn't look bothered and Keane continued to watch broodingly on from the sideline.

The result was very much the beginning of the end for Keane. Some of the supporters who'd backed him through thick and thin began to turn and the run got even worse as Swansea and Preston (bottom of the league, couldn't win at home, victory on a plate) beat us. We'd lost 6 League games in a row and had only won two of the previous 10. Even the Carling Cup run couldn't distract Town fans from the depressing reality. If we didn't improve sharpish, we were looking at a relegation fight.

One of the stand out games in the League last season was the one played on December 18th, the day the south east was at the mercy of the elements. Heathrow had been submerged, London based Premiership matches were postponed and even shopping centres were shut down. I was making my way back from university and managed to miss all the madness. Until I got into Ipswich.


The snow began to fall as soon as my dad parked the car. It continued through the warm up, but it wasn't too bad. Then, when the game kicked off, it got to blizzard conditions and I, unfortunately, was in the very front of the South Stand... 

The game was, luckily, being shown on the TV, because if it wasn't, it would've been called off. It was a bizarre experience for the crowd present inside Portman Road, the management of both Town and Leicester and most of all, the players. We were 3-0 up in the first half, with Norris opening the scoring and Scotland bagging a couple (it was perfect conditions for him, as he was able to hold the ball up). Then Atwell took the players off. Leicester fans were hoping that would be it. Town fans started chanting, "Get your brooms out for the lads" as the groundstaff and stewards desperately swept the pitch to give Town the precious three points:

And it worked. In the end, Town won 3-0, after two delays as sales of hot beverages went through the roof. It would be Keane's last victory as Town boss, as the bitter winter weather saw the Watford home game be called off (to the disappointment of all the groundstaff) and Doncaster call off the match after a heavy frost. New Year's Day saw us draw 1-1 with Coventry (I was still in Australia) and a couple of days later we lost 1-0 to Forest (again, still in Australia).

The defeat to Forest was the final nail in the coffin for Keane. He was sacked after nearly two years at the helm. It ultimately proved to be an expensive experiment and Keane has since said that he joined the club without meeting the Chief Executive. When he came to Portman Road, I was not a big fan of the idea. To me, it was the new owner trying to get some revenue into the club by creating some press coverage. We were "Roy Keane's Ipswich". As soon as he was shown the door, we were back to being plain old "Ipswich Town" again. And that, that, was wonderful.

Charlie McParland was given the role as caretaker for the menacing FA Cup fixture against Chelsea. It didn't go well. I was in on my way home and my mum and dad kept me updated as I sat in Bangkok Airport. I had to board the flight again at half time, so had no idea we'd lost 7-0 until I landed at Heathrow (severely tired, but determined to stay awake until a reasonable hour) at 5:55 in the morning.

After that hammering, our attention turned to my favourite fixture and arguably our best performance of the entire season. 

Our Carling Cup run had been a success of Keane's tenure at Portman Road. It all started back in August, as we made the long trip down to Exeter City (luckily, my brother lives around the corner from the ground, so it wasn't too bad for me). It was shaky as our youth mixed with experience managed to overcome Exeter in extra time to win 3-2. We beat Crewe, then Millwall, then Northampton and were facing West Brom a few days after the travesty that occurred in Norfolk. I couldn't get to Portman Road that night, but I have a decent excuse of being in the top end of Lancashire. Many stayed away, citing ticket prices, poor football, a fear of being absolutely thrashed and wanting Roy Keane gone. What happened was fantastic. I listened to the first half and couldn't handle it. We were playing so, so well and I just feared that West Brom would hit us on the counter-attack and be in the semi-finals. It didn't happen. Leadbitter got a penalty and we were into the semi-final of a major competition for the first time in my lifetime of supporting this club. We were drawn against Arsenal.

Wednesday 12th January 2011 is a date that will forever be in my memory. A week earlier, I'd been in Sydney, watching England pile on the runs against Australia to win the Ashes 3-1. Portman Road was packed, not always with Ipswich fans (I'm pretty sure I was surrounded by Arsenal fans, which was absolutely gutting). There was a buzz. We were playing one of the best sides in the country. We were 19th in the Championship, couldn't buy a win unless it was being played on a blanket of snow and had just been thrashed 7-0 by Chelsea.

So when Tamas Priskin scored in the 78th minute to hand us a lead as we went off to the Emirates, it was incredible. 

It was only the first leg and of course we were always going to lose at the Emirates, but at that moment, the players had finally shown they could play with pride, passion and commitment. They put a smile back on our faces. Which made Cesc Fabregas' and his comments regarding a "rugby kick" and the state of our pitch, public enemy number one at Portman Road. A team containing Arshavin, Bendtner, Walcott, Wilshere and Fabregas could not break down our defence. We'd exposed their weakness and I like to think that we played a small part in the eventual break down of Arsenal's title challenge in the Premiership.

For some unknown reason, I was one of the lucky ones to be sent a letter informing me that I was entitled to a ticket for Arsenal away. I'd only been to three away games, Exeter, Sheffield United and Preston. I was back up in Lancaster, but I'd got my ticket before going away to Australia. So I set off down to London after my seminar and was set on enjoying it, like many other Town fans. I didn't care about the result, I just wanted Town to play with pride and give Arsenal a game. And we really did do just that.

At half time, it was 0-0, we still had the lead and some optimists around me were cautiously allowing themselves to believe. Of course, it all came to nothing in the second half, as our absolutely shattered team finally succumbed to the Gunners, but they had done everyone proud. I left the Emirates with my head held high, and as I wandered through the swathes of Arsenal fans back to the tube, I felt very proud of the Suffolk Punch badge on my chest.

The bright side of losing to Arsenal was that we no longer had the Carling Cup as a distraction.  We also now had a new boss. McParland had gone after the Arsenal home game and Paul Jewell had been handed the reigns after having a break from football. Paul Jewell has done a decent enough job at most of the places he's been, his Wigan side pipped us to promotion in 2004/05 (we beat them in fog. It was awesome) and so long as he could lead us to safety, he'd be able to build a squad.

It started off with a loss to Millwall on the Saturday after the Arsenal home game. It was expected, our players were knackered after their exploits. Doncaster at home followed the next Saturday and it was this match that seemed to suggest that happier days may well be returning to Portman Road. 1-0 down at half time, Town equalised then took the lead, only for Donny to equalise themselves. Edwards scored in the 64th minute and we had our first win since the Leicester game. The Doncaster victory and the amazing loan signing of Jimmy Bullard only added to the happier feeling around Portman Road. Victories over Derby and Sheffield United meant we were chasing a fourth win in four, something that hasn't happened at Town for years. We drew 1-1 with Barnsley on a dodgy sounding pitch, but then bounced back with an astonishing 6-0 win, where Wickham scored a hat-trick, over Doncaster in the rearranged fixture after the postponement in December.

The run was fantastic compared to the miserable form we'd been in through November/December, but it came to a halt as we faced the team destined to become the Championship winners, QPR. Whilst we played a lot better than we did in September against them, we still lost 2-0 as our defence showed its weaknesses again. This was followed up by a defeat to Portsmouth on a grey and miserable late February afternoon (again, I was there), as  David Nugent showed why I really, really cannot stand him by celebrating like an absolute moron. Again.

The form was erratic, as we beat Cardiff, then lost to Reading (although they were on a role that saw them become play-off contenders and finish 5th) and Watford. There was a draw with Leeds, then a victory over Scunthorpe that signalled the beginning of a run of form that put us 6 points off the play-offs (before another harrowing defeat to Norwich). We beat Burnley and then Palace with a couple of crackers from young Josh Carson. But then, that fourth victory in a row eluded us again as we drew 3-3 with Middlesbrough. 

This match was a good match for neutrals. Town started really well and scored in the 6th minute, but then, after a horrible injury to a Seb Hines, in which he broke his jaw, it all started to fall apart. Boro equalised, then took the lead as our defence fell apart. Delaney was having a nightmare as he inadvertently set up Boro's second by hitting it onto our own crossbar. When Boro took a 3-1 lead, things were looking grim. But then Wickham scored and suddenly we were believing. In the 76th minute, Lee Martin was tripped in the box (I still maintain there was contact, I was in the top of the North Stand) and Leadbitter stepped up to score the equaliser. Either side could've won it, with our defence looking nervous every time Boro came forward, but it was this result that has given me some hope for next season.

After a well fought and scrappy victory over Bristol City, where we won after playing with 10 men for over an hour and a nasty knock to the head for Grant Leadbitter that created over 10 minutes of stoppage time, gave us the belief and contributed to the optimistic build up to the second East Anglian derby of the season. I'm not going to go over the result again. There's another blog for that and to be honest, I'm feeling pretty happy at the moment so would rather not remember that awful night. 

After all the optimism had been ripped out of us after the result, we headed down to South Wales for more misery. I'd decided to go, because I'd never been to Swansea and fancied a new stadium. We had no Bullard and no Wickham, so that wasn't the best of starts and then we lost 4-1, to add insult to the massive injury given to us on the Thursday. We beat Preston in a game of two halves and then lost 4-2 to Leicester in a game where the crowd were there to pretty much to have a good time, regardless of the score.

So. That was the season briefly summed up. It's been a performance that Jekyll and Hyde would be proud of, as we've gone from sublime to abysmal in the space of 90 minutes and it's made for a pretty interesting summer. 

I've been having a think over the past few days about what could happen over the summer and where it'll leave us in August. Jewell now has time to build his own squad and get rid of the players that he doesn't want. Delaney signed a contract citing "optimism" was his major reason. I've come up with some reasons to be cheerful and some reasons to be worried, and because I'm a pessimist, it's the latter that has more of them.

Reasons to be cheerful

• The youth. We've seen some potential "stars" emerge from the youth academy. Much has been written about Connor Wickham, but names like Josh Carson, Luke Hyam (although he appears to have disappeared), Ronan Murry and Shane O'Connor (and others) have all put in decent performances over the past season, and they've all been given a chance by Jewell with contract extensions. 
• Money is said to be there (although I will do the counter claim in the next bit).
• Jimmy Bullard seems to want to play for Ipswich Town.
• We have put in some decent performances at points over the season, whether it be in just the first half. 
• We don't have to play Norwich next season. 

Reasons to be worried:

• Simon Clegg. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him and essentially, don't really trust him to do well with any contract talks as he stated that "the club wouldn't be held to ransom" by any player. His press releases are mostly political spin and he just doesn't seem to understand football all that much. 
• Lack of money for leaving players. Again, this can be put down to Clegg and co. McAuley, Norris and Murphy have all been allowed to leave the club (good luck to them all) but on a free. We paid £2 million for Norris, meaning we have lost money. My fear, fuelled on by our completely ridiculous local press, is that should someone come in with an absolutely mad offer for Connor Wickham, he'll be allowed to leave, which whilst it may be good for the club to have some money (although how much would be available would be questionable), it wouldn't be best for the player. Of course, by saying this, I'm helping to contribute to rumours and I am just being a massive pessimist, all too used to good players leaving Portman Road.
• The Jimmy Bullard saga. I'd love to sign him. You'd love it if we signed him. But we could just be looking at another Gio situation, which would be of no help to anyone. 
• Claims of money being available have been made in the past, so I'm always cautious whenever this statement is made.
• And then, the usual concerns with the defence, striking department, etc... that have been on repeat for the past 5 years.

I hope Jewell has a good summer. I hope our pre-season helps us to become a team and I hope that we find a decent centre half to replace McAuley, who has been a decent enough performer for us over the past few years. He's always been the better of a bad bunch. And good luck to Norris. Whilst many think he may not be that bigger loss, he has been one of our top scorers this season. I thought he was a good enough captain (even though I still think the football captaincy doesn't really matter, but then I love cricket and am probably being blinkered) and he always worked hard in midfield. But then running around a lot doesn't really win many people over. It wasn't his fault that we paid so much for him, but still. Good luck to both of them for their futures.

So, what do I think will happen next season? It all really depends on what happens over the summer, but it'll probably be mid-table again. I've seen flashes of brilliance, but not enough to inspire great hope and belief that we will be challenging for the promotion next season. So much is relying on the signature of Jimmy Bullard and that situation changes every day. It's certainly going to be an interesting few months, but the thing is, even if Jewell does create his own team, it won't happen immediately.

 

And in that case, bring on 2012/13. 

Easter woes continue for Town.

We conceded 9 goals over the Easter break, something that our defence and our goalkeeper almost certainly caused for themselves. One of those goals was a McAuley own goal, another was a penalty after a clumsy challenge by Mark Kennedy (who having just failed to tackle to guy previously, thought it would be a good idea to have another crack when he had no chance), the rest were caused by goalkeeping errors (Swansea times two yesterday, definitely one against Norwich) and not having enough pace at the back.

Both Darren O'Dea and Mark Kennedy looked hopelessly outpaced by Swansea's wide man, Dyer. He skipped past O'Dea in the first half many a time, it was his inability to control him on the wing that led to Swansea's opener, which was, arguably at the time, against the run of play. However, for Swasnea, they settled down and played the football that shows why they're one of the top sides in the division, and like Norwich, they took advantage of our non-pace and non-threat upfront and ran us ragged on the counterattack.

Against a team like Swansea, and with us having nothing to play for, I would've thought that it would have been the perfect game to give Jaime Peters a crack. He has pace and possibly could've matched Dyer. Peters always, always puts the effort in and he gets forward too, whilst keeping his position at the back, something that has always been a problem with Carlos Edwards.

With Bullard and Wickham out, and us recalling Ronan Murray from Torquay, I'd have liked to have seen him given a chance up front with Jason Scotland. Scotland is not the type of player you want when your team get so frustrated that they play route one football. He can't run, can't jump and his first touch is appalling at times, so hitting a long ball up to him is highly unlikely to work. Scotland has scored 10 goals this season and I bet you that if you could see all the higlights, he'd have had the ball passed at his feet, rather than lumped up field. I thought he'd be a good player for us should he pick up a bit of match fitness, but he like every player tipped as the answer to our goalscoring woes, he's been disappointing.

The other thing with our well documented striking problem is that nobody seems to want to get in the box. We get the ball, we faff around outside the area, but when you look into the area, there is nobody there. So then we faff around a bit more, waiting for someone to magically appear in the box, but then you look around the field and most of the players seem disinterested. Yes, we're safe, but for heaven's sake, you've just lost 5-1 to our hated neighbours. A reaction, a better performance or even just the slightest showing of passion would be much appreciated.

My blog a few days ago about Ipswich's season not being mathematically over (it is now) is redunant now. When I wrote that, I hoped for a much better showing from Town in both the derby and South Wales. Instead, at this stage, if we seriously want to challenge for promotion next season we have got a long, long way to go. So, Paul Jewell, against Preston on Saturday, a team who've been relegated but will probably play with more pride than our players can even imagine, please play the fringe players. Give Brian Murphy another crack in goal, play Jaime Peters, give Luca Civelli a start. If you think a player's not going to be here next season, don't play them. Give even more of the youngsters a go, like Joe Whight. Look at the players you've offered contracts to, to give them a chance to impress you and possibly cement a starting place next season.

The start of next season marks almost 10 years since we got relegated from the Premier League. Since then we've come close to the play-off final twice, but since 2005 and have been stuck eternally in midtable.  Delaney signed his contract stating that there was "optimism around the club". After these two results, I wonder just how much optimism there is now.

Ipswich Town's season not mathematically over...

But, if we're all perfectly honest and realistic, it probably is.

On Thursday, we have part two of the East Anglian derby of the 2010/11 season. Norwich fans are getting excited about the thought of automatic promotion, Ipswich fans are getting excited about spoiling their party. But something has happened in the months since Paul Jewell has arrived at Portman Road. Suddenly, we are a team that seems happy, a team that seems to enjoy playing together and a team that, whilst it's disappointing to lose, know that if they have one bad game, they're not going to be cast away in the abyss, to be forgotten about or sent on loan to Crystal Palace.

Compare that to the team that, embarrassingly and spinelessly, got hammered 4-1 at Carrow Road. That team was disorganised and in a downward spiral, something I depressingly witnessed at Preston back in December. I witnessed Keane's last win, but that was down to the weather and Sky Sports being there. The next time I watched Ipswich Town, we had won 1-0 against Arsenal and again looked a completely different team. It was like a monkey had collectively been taken off the players' backs and suddenly, happier days could well be back at Portman Road.

Since January, the form's been up and down. We can go on a three game winning streak, then end up losing/drawing the elusive fourth win. For us to even have a sniff of the play-offs and to take advantage of those (which is a lot of teams) around us slipping up, I would say we have to win all our games. We have four games left. We won on Saturday against Bristol City in a scrappy, luck-riddled, but ultimately gritty performance. We have to face our dear rivals from Norfolk and Swansea, both sides that have been up in the top six for the majority of the season, Preston, a team fighting for their lives and Leicester, another one of those sides that could, but probably won't, be up there come May 7th.

However, after we lost to Reading, Watford and Portsmouth (it was grey, miserable and dire), I thought our season was over. After the horrendous run in November and December, being near the bottom of the table and getting worried about relegation, the fact we even have an outside chance of the play-offs is some achievement.

Do I think we'll do it? No, of course not, I'm a pessimist, but it's nice to have a dream. Having said this, I also, to some extent, wouldn't want us to get into the play-offs. Whilst we're on a good run of form, we got very lucky against Crystal Palace, as the Palace strikers didn't have their radars on. Against Middlesbrough, albeit after a sickening injury to Seb Hines, where he broke his jaw and managed to get up and play on, we lost concentration and after playing well, lost communication in defence and ended up going 3-1 down. Delaney had a mare and managed to inadvertently set up Boro's equaliser. Whilst we came back from what would've been a probably undeserved defeat, we have been in the same position against teams like Reading and Watford and lost. They are the teams above us, Boro are below us.

The comeback against Middlesbrough showed character, the performance with 10 men for an hour (and after Grant Leadbitter's nasty clash of heads, get well soon Grant) on Saturday also showed character. But the way we've played all season, with the inconsistent performances and all the youngsters coming through, I'd prefer next season to the real "OPERATION PREMIERSHIP" that seems to have disappeared from the season ticket application forms this season.

This, of course, won't stop me coming up with ridiculous scenarios. Imagine if we did finish 6th and then Norwich finished in 3rd. An East Anglian derby play-off semi-final? Crazy. If we finished 6th and Norwich didn't finish 3rd, we could face Cardiff, a team we've been doing quite well against in recent years. But, like I said, these are just ridiculous scenarios that I've conjured up in excitement for Thursday.

I'm excited for Thursday. I'm in the North Stand for an East Anglian derby for the first time ever. I have so many memories from down the years of the derbies. Sito's sending off, that 3-2 victory that was Jim Magilton's last game managing, Pablo scoring a penalty to equalise and cause waves of people to run on the pitch...

All I can ask from Ipswich Town is a win this Thursday. Do it for the new manager, to convince him to give you a new contract. Do it for yourselves, to prove the match in November was a one off embarrassment. But perhaps most of all, do it for the fans. All you need to do is look at the ITFC hashtag on Twitter at the moment to understand how much it means to us all. The Norwich fans are fishing for a keyboard fight and Darren Huckerby's doing his "slap the scum" thing again, but the banter is mostly good natured.

So Town, I beg of you allow us this one glory. Give it your best shot, injure Grant Holt and make it worth a red card this time, get lucky, score a winner off your backside, I don't care. Because you have no idea what a victory would mean to the Ipswich Town supporting people of inside and outside of Suffolk.

Come on you Blues.

Match Report: Preston North End vs Ipswich Town

Date: Saturday 11th December 2010
Result: 1-0 Preston (the seventh time I have seen a 1-0 loss)
Scorer for Town: N/A. Barn door, banjo, etc.

It's not really a match report, more a collective amount of thoughts on today's game.

I knew it was grim before I sped across the Lancashire countryside. I've listened online and I saw the East Anglian derby, but until I finally witnessed us in the flesh, I had no idea just how grim it was. Who are this team? Why has our defence become rubbish again? Where's the team spirit? Where's Delaney gone? Why's Jaime Peters on the bench?

Today we looked like a bunch of strangers. We passed in the middle well, but had no vision for the runs that Norris and Edwards were trying to make and just ended up hoofing the ball up to Scotland. Preston's defence was rubbish, but our final ball and strikers made them look like Brazil. Do these players actually enjoy playing together? If a run goes unnoticed, arms flay about and frustration comes out, but when a play comes into the box, nobody calls for it and suddenly it's in the back of our net. Communication seems to have evaporated from the side. Murphy doesn't seem to shout. Today we had both Brown and Zuiverloon miss the ball and were lucky not to concede. Tommy Smith (I think it was him) nearly scored a superb own goal.

I just cannot understand how we've gone from beating West Brom (albeit, a weakened West Brom) to a team that looks like it can't tell its arse from its elbow. Bringing in more and more loanees is not the answer. How many players did Norwich use when they went down? How many did Sunderland use when Keane was in charge? Someone said to me today that he thinks all the Sunderland lot stick together. Perhaps I'm wrong to misjudge the role of a football captain. In times like this, someone has to stand up and take charge and it looks like David Norris is giving it a shot, but is anyone listening to him? His tensions boiled over as he and Parkin exchanged handbags towards the final whistle.

I've come back from Deepdale today once again feeling sad. I'm not angry any more. What's the point in being angry about this? We need a lift from somewhere, but I just can't see where it's going to come from. I've read that people are saying that the League Cup run is distracting us. It's not distracting me. We've lost six on the bounce and are sinking down the league table faster than a cardboard kayak.

I studied the players hard in the warm up. I'm going to be honest, I did double take at a couple of them because I've not seen Ipswich play since early November. When the team were playing the different coloured bib vs different coloured bib warm up, only one side actually looked good. Can we play ourselves every week? 

We dominated in the first half, but both defences were making ridiculous errors that were going unpunished. Our passing looked good in the middle, but again, the final ball through, not having enough people in the box or in rare cases, an actual decent piece of defending, cost us. 0-0 at half time and I just knew something had to give, one of these defences would crack. At half time, the Preston announcer said that they'd have "two or three penalty shouts." Sod off. It's the rub of the green. Last week cost us and we had one against West Brom turned down which could've cost us. Besides, I'm pretty sure I saw a handball from a Preston player in their box... 

I often wonder what it'd be like to be a fly on the wall in the Ipswich dressing room at half time. Does Keane shout and throw teacups? Is he cool, calm and collected? Does he insult the players? Does he ramble on about Rooney's house, because he thinks he's being interviewed by Sky Sports? Either way, I'd like to know what he says, because in the second half, Preston looked a new side. They'd changed ideas. We hadn't. It was an all too familiar story.

In the build up to Preston's goal, they had a shout for a free kick. Whilst Iain Hume's touch and finish was something Jason Scotland can only dream of at the moment, we seemed to just switch off. Play. To. The. Whistle. It's something I've always found with Ipswich Town, even in the years of Matt Holland. Hume seemed to skip through our defence. Tommy Smith looked solid enough today. Troy Brown seems uncomfortable. I'm all for giving the youth a go, it makes me feel old, but when you've got someone like Delaney (alright, he got sent off against Norwich, but did you see where it happened? And did you see how easily that lump Holt went over? AND DID YOU SEE DARREN O'DEA?) in the ranks, surely him and Smith would be a decent enough partnership until the return of McAuley? Also, Mark Kennedy. How did the man pass his medical? Let him heal properly Keane, before throwing him back into the mixer.

I go home in a week, and will be back in the North Stand for the Leicester City match. We're on the telly. Again. I don't know why they keep showing us, we're not really playing football at the moment. Keane vs Sven is not really interesting. If it was Keane vs McCarthy, yes, possibly, but it's just going to be another humiliating defeat on TV. Money? Yes. But the crowd will probably be less than 19,000. It'll be cold, it's the last shopping weekend before Christmas and Ipswich Town ticket prices are ridiculous.

To be perfectly honest, if you're looking for entertainment, you're probably better off watching X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing. It'll only be offence to the ears and eyes. We'll make all five of your senses bleed. Even taste.

Will Keane be here on Monday? Probably. When he goes, will we still get the headlines? Definitely not.

Today, I'm not feeling angry.

I'm feeling sad. Ipswich have now lost five league games in a row, and I'm trying to rack my brains thinking of when this last happened in the time I've supported this club. I listened to the match today, and we sounded like we played alright. Yes, it wasn't the Swansea style of play with the fluent passing, but we had chances and could have drawn it had it not been for Andy D'Urso. Again. (Having said this, I haven't actually seen the incident, but I still dislike Andy D'Urso.)

Terrible defending as well cost us today. Like it did against Norwich. And for most of last season. McAuley's injured, Delaney got sent off against Norwich and is clearly not in Keane's good books. So what does that leave us? A 20 year old World Cup international, a guy on loan, a 20 year old who played 90 minutes on Tuesday and Darren O'Dea, another guy on loan, who pretty much handed Norwich their opening goal on a plate.

Today we had 5 loanees in the side. Norris was ill, apparently and Peters continues to be a bench warmer for reasons I do not understand. In our defence, we had two loanees and two 20 year olds. Hardly instills confidence. I'm all for giving the youth a go, they are the future of this club and our academy's pretty good. But we don't have that senior player at the moment and boy do I miss McAuley. Rather than raiding the lower leagues for midfielders, can we please get someone to cover McAuley for however long he's out for? Or at least have someone decent in front of the defence in a diamond?

I'm off to Preston next week. It's only 30 minutes down the road, so it'd be stupid not to go. I'm not really sure what I'm going to see. We're slipping down the table and are really showing relegation form. Preston are bottom. We like giving wins to people who are desperate for wins. It's only December, but August and September are distant memories. The Carling Cup run is a nice bonus, we did win on Wednesday, so we know how it feels to win, but the league form is just grim. I miss the draws. Why can't we draw? If we go into a match with a drawing mentality, we lose, because we panic and forget that there's a set of goalposts down the other end of the pitch.

"Hi Footballaritans, me again. Yeah, it's 5 losses now. I don't think a hug can cut it any more."

At least there's always the cricket.

The East Anglian derby.

A Sheffield United fan once said to me, "It's not really a derby. To be a derby, you have to be in the same place. Not 40 miles from one another." 

It's not the Suffolk derby, is it? It's not the Norfolk derby either. This is the East Anglian derby. The two biggest clubs in our pokey, lovely region, fighting it out not just for bragging rights for the supporters, but for the county. It makes kids hate the sight of yellow and green (or blue and white, but why would they, when these two colours clearly stand for all the beautiful things in the world. Sorry, I'll try and be this thing called 'unbiased'...), hate Norwich/Ipswich, get stared at whilst wearing the colours of either Ipswich/Norwich in Norwich/Ipswich, makes people pronounce the names of these places wrong, makes half decent players become loathed because they played for the wrong team. 

I read this article on the BBC Sport website and the comments section highlights just how much this derby means to the inhabitants of Norfolk and Suffolk. It's the city of Norwich vs the town of Ipswich. People outside of East Anglia seem to dismiss it, they don't understand what all the fuss is about and just think it's the locals getting restless. But a neutral sitting in Portman Road or Carrow Road would see just how passionate this derby is, how much of an atmosphere envelopes the ground. The Portman Road fixture, despite, weirdly, being on a Thursday evening will probably attract over 25,000. It's Good Friday next day. The kids are off school (probably, I haven't really checked dates), I'm home from university and will be itching to get a ticket in the lower deck of the North Stand. 

Heroes have been made in East Anglian derbies, Danny Haynes for his last minute winner, that we all maintain went in off his head. Honest. Probably incredibly insignificant to most, but also David Wright, for scoring the equaliser in my first ever away derby. That's the over-riding reason I was gutted he left during the summer. Sad, yes, but it shows just how much the East Anglian derby means to me. 

The uproar (well, there was uproar in this university room, I shouted, "WHAT!" quite loudly at the laptop and went into a huff) that Jake Humphrey, a Norwich fan, is presenting the coverage of the East Anglian derby is something people can't understand. Ipswich fans think the BBC is biased towards Norwich. ITV Anglia definitely is, in this paranoid mind. You know how it annoys you that they have ex-Liverpool players as summarisers on MOTD? Yeah, this is 10 times worse. I only hope Matt Holland is in the studio, but then he plays neutral very well. 

Humphrey, if you so much as smile about anything to do with your side, you are going down. 

Being outside of East Anglia for it is difficult. I know no other true Ipswich fans, and when I see people wearing yellow and green scarves, they're Manchester United fans. So I shall be watching the derby somewhere, preferably in the comfort of my own flat, because I don't think my colourful language will be suitable for a bar at that time of day. Or I will listen to it online and hope that the BBC put it up afterwards.

As a kid, being an Ipswich fan made me dislike one of the faces of my childhood, Blue Peter presenter, Simon Thomas. Because he's a budgie. As a teenager, it makes me sad that a man as intelligent as Stephen Fry would support them. I've tailed off the point here, so I think all that's left to say is, come on Ipswich. We may be in a slump, but if you can't get up for this, then there's no point in you being here. We've got local, young lads in the squad now, who surely must understand the passions involved in this Anglian pride. Play well, and you're a hero to thousands.


With the inevitable likely to happen in Brisbane, bring it on, budgies. Bring it on.

Ipswich Town in the dictionary.

This time last week, I was buzzing from witnessing my second (!) away win of the season. Today, I am confused and angry, because yesterday we lost 3-1 to Barnsley. At home.

Had I been there to witness it, I probably wouldn't be so annoyed, as then I'd have been able to form my own opinion. This blog is based on what I've read on various social networking sites and from match reports.

Apart from the fact it's £26 to get into Portman Road, and that's if the ticket is in advance, the football doesn't sound as though it's much quality. A quote from the Observer Championship Verdict page says, "Keane has produced a team that's capable of some of the dullest football we've ever seen at Portman Road." And I thought last season was grim.

However, I guess it's not all doom and gloom. We are only 3 points off the play-offs places in November. This time last season mass suicide was the only answer. But then, how can we compare to last season? We have a new keeper, new strikeforce, new defence and new captain. Tamas Priskin is a new person as someone in the Ipswich Town community seems to have given him a hug. He nearly scored a beauty against Sheffield United last weekend and was apparently our best player yesterday. Yet Keane took him off. Odd.

As a crowd, Portman Road is extremely fickle. Play crap, you get jeered or are greeted with moans of frustration. Play well, you get silence and the ocassional clap/an incredibly satisfied crowd. I know I'm extremely fickle. It's probably for the best I'm not around anymore.

So I'm not off to Hull. Not for football reasons, even if they got smashed 10-0 yesterday, I'd have gone if it wasn't for trains being expensive. £13 for a student ticket? Brilliant. Sadly, I went to Sheffield on four hours sleep and I'm still feeling it. Never good.

So I will continue to shout at my laptop, await text updates from my mum and dad as I refuse to pay for Ipswich Town player. If I can listen to Notts County vs Colchester online, why can't I listen to Radio Suffolk? I'm too bitter. And then in two weeks today, I make my way to a bar on campus hoping that it will be showing the biggest derby of the season and not Newcastle vs Chelsea.

Form counts for sod all in East Anglian derbies. We can only live in hope Ipswich fans.

Match Report: Ipswich Town 2-0 Bristol City

I returned to Portman Road for the first time since that bloody awful Sheffield United game in May. I've already seen Ipswich play this season, but this was in the League Cup against Exeter, where the average age of the team was probably the same age as me. What was even more special about this game for me was that this was the first time that I sat in the lower North/Sir Bobby Robson Stand. I say sat, I was stood up for most of the game. Anyway, comparing the miserable match I saw in May with the one I saw here, in the August sunshine and showers, I was pleasantly surprised. We've improved so much that I've become convinced the real Ipswich Town are locked in a lost wine cellar of the Cobbolds.

We began the first half looking lively. There were hugs and high fives a-plenty amongst the Town players, so this seems to suggest that the team spirit is good in the camp. Who knows, maybe they're all just really good actors. We looked slick, passed the ball well and had chances. We came close with a Leadbitter (I think) free kick and then even closer with a Tamas Priskin shot that hit the crossbar. Being the massive pessimist, I was thinking that it wasn't going to be our day.

Around the half an hour mark, there came a change. Not a substitute, just the fact that we went off the boil. Suddenly we decided the dreaded long ball was the way forward, when carrying on what we were doing in the first place was far more effective. It was a disappointing end to the first half, as we just seemed to fizzle out. However, my spirits were lifted when I overheard a bloke behind me say that we haven't scored in the first half this season.

We did see some net action in the first half though. One of the Bristol City players took a shot, missed and ended up running into the netting used to protect spectators from shooting practice. He got stuck and put up with the jeering of the North Standers as he desperately tried to unhook himself...

Half Time: Ipswich 0-0 Bristol City

Once the second half kicked off, you could see there was a difference in the Town side. They were spirited and returned to the passing game that had served them OK in the first half. You could tell it was going well as Keane didn't make any changes on the 50th minute.

Priskin, who whenever I've seen him is either always offside or looks about as cheerful as a Hungarian who is low on confidence can look, finally broke the deadlock near the hour mark. And with my blue-tinted glasses on, I'd say it was deserved. Yes, it was a massive, massive cock-up between Fontaine and good old Calamity James but the Priskin last season would probably have missed that. It may well be a confidence booster for the man, because this was his first goal in front of the Portman Road faithful. He's already doubled his tally for last season.

Now to his strike partner, Jason Scotland. When he arrived earlier this week and we said goodbye to Jon Stead, there was a bit of indifference and hesistancy amongst the Town fans. Scotland wasn't good for Wigan in the Premierleague, but in the Championship he was pretty good for Swansea. Considering the fact he was short of fitness, he played 90 minutes and managed to score on his debut. Once he does gain a bit of match fitness, he may well be a crucial striker for us. We have Wickham waiting on the sidelines with an ankle injury, but he's just a kid (like most of our squad) so now might be the time for both Scotland and Priskin to try and impress. Even though there is now an international break. Still, they both linked well, took advantage of defensive errors and basically, it was nice for two strikers to score after getting rid of three of them.

The reaction to Jon Stead was as expected. It must've been tough for the guy as he was here Sunday, gone Monday and then back here on Saturday. In a red shirt. Being marked by Gareth McAuley. I'm probably alone in hoping he went into the home dressing room by accident.

No matter how the goals came, it's three points. It's a decent enough performance and we're third in the league. It's also our first league clean sheet of the season and our third win. We look relaxed, we look like we're finally linking together. David Norris is excelling in his role as captain. When he went down in a heap outside the 'D' in front of the North Stand, I was holding my breath and hoping he was alright, as he really will be a massive player for us this season. In the end, I needn't have worried, because they make 'em tough in er... Plymouth.

Player ratings
Fulop 6: Having confused him for Brian Murphy in the highlights of the Palace match last week, I figured out who he was this time. He didn't really have to do much as the Robins didn't give him much of a challenge. However, he has a very useful kick and ran rings around David James.

Peters 6: Some of his passing was off today. Definitely had a better second half than first and did put in some decent tackles. Hopefully over the season he will link more with Carlos Edwards.

McAuley 7: The man's a rock. Hopefully he can stay clear of injury because he provides us with height at corners and also has started where he left off towards the end of last season.

Smith 6: The New Zealander seems to be forming a good partnership with McAuley, although I assume once Delaney's back he'll go to left or right back. He also made some good clearances, and I think any first team experience is valuable to someone so young.

O'Dea 7: He got forward, he looks strong and by heck he put in some crunching tackles.

Leadbitter 7: Unlucky not to score from his free kick. We all know how good he can be and it's fantastic that he's not got a chipped bone as was feared after the Burnley game.

Edwards 7: When he stays in position, he's good. And to be fair to him, he stayed in position a lot today. He seems to have been eating his Wheetabix in the morning, as he appears to be speedier than I remember...

Norris 7: Like Peters, played better in the second half than the first. But was still pretty good in the first half. The international break has come at a good time for him though, since he's played every match we've had, including extra time against Exeter and Crewe.

Hyam 6: He was awesome against Exeter, but not so good today. Too many loose balls. However, he's young and will certainly improve. Definitely someone to get excited about, anyway!

Scotland 7: Pretty decent home debut. Hopefully he can continue it once he gets a bit more match fit. He provided support to Priskin and clearly enjoyed the goal!

Priskin 7: He was good today. He was actually good. Only offside once if my memory serves me correctly. He looked like he enjoyed today as well and you could see the metaphorical monkey being lifted off his back as the ball hit the back of the net for the opener.

End of Season Report

This blog is a tiny bit late. I have six very important exams coming up, so writing this on a Saturday night is a nice break from revision. So, Ipswich Town's season ended up being plain old nothingness. Even the papers couldn't be arsed with us. The national press were bored of Roy Keane, with the 3-0 defeat on the last day of the season conjuring up very little.

I have never witnessed such dire football across an entire season. In the odd match, yes (Southampton 2008/2009, Rotherham many moons ago) but from start to finish? Bleurgh. Yes, there were bright spots. That run after Christmas was very enjoyable. But apart from that, nothing really sticks out. We drew 20 games. Try and pick out your highlights from that.

So now we move on into late May, waiting for the pre-season fixtures to come out and the movement to begin in the transfer market. I heard that Stoke were impressed by Jon Walters' performance on the last day of the season. Well, someone had to be. By his standards, he's had a shocking season. But then, he was at his peak a couple of seasons ago and we held onto him thinking he was the key link in the side. We're not going to get Colback, but he faded out towards the end. In Norris and Leadbitter we have two similar players.

What needs to happen is the squad needs to be trimmed. Get rid of the rot. Even if you signed them last year. Try and get rid of them. Dress them up, make them look pretty. Tell lies. I don't care. Just make the squad smaller so there's a higher chance of selecting the same team next season. You know, a settled side, where they don't feel as though one bad game will mean a good two months on the sidelines.

The rot, in my eyes, does not include the Wrights. Yes, Richard Wright is knocking on a bit, but he seems far more stable than Brian Murphy. I don't know why Keane dropped Arran Lee-Barrett. He really helped out in the good times in December. Murphy may have a good kick, but most of the time it goes in an unintentional direction. And David Wright. I don't care if you go to Norwich. I won't boo you. You don't deserve it because you've given me some very happy memories over the years, like scoring the equaliser in my first away East Anglian derby. You've been treated like crap by Keane. So has Stead. I would love Stead to come back but at the moment he appears in the wilderness.

Having watched a rather exciting play-off final, it left me wondering. Why can't we play like those guys? Why do we have such a one dimensional outlook? We played well in the first half against Forest, yet in the second got trounced. Because Forest changed their game plan. We did not. 

I'm not one for calling for the manager's head. But if we start off where we left off again then it's going to be a long old season next time. June 17th the fixture list comes out. August 31st the transfer window closes. It's going to be a long summer, made even longer by the rumblings in South Africa...

Ah yes, the World Cup. Where the nation becomes insane and stories of foreigners hating the English flag/shirts begin to crop up to fuel xenophobia and make national pride soar into the unbelievable. "LOOK. I'M WEARING AN ENGLAND SHIRT" - Congratulations. Let me go express my joy with a sarcastic cheer. Everywhere you turn there's a flag of St George. They're sold in every supermarket, given in deals with tabloids and will probably be handed out on street corners should England do well. If not, you can probably pick one up at your local recycling plant when the inevitable crushing disappointment hits the country.

I highly doubt England will do well. But then I'm biased. I'm not a big fan of the national team and I'm very much a club before country person. This is because I'm
a) more Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish blooded than I am English
b) not a big fan of the majority of the footballers that play for England. 

I'm happy to support the England cricketers. (Congratulations to them by the way. Top effort. Unnervingly good, but superb. I haven't had time to create an 'I'm overjoyed by this' blog, but will probably do something mid-July when the moaning about how none of the team are actually English comes to a peak) This is because they can be related to, you can talk to them easily and they seem like genuinely nice people. Out of the two England captains, Andrew Strauss and Rio Ferdinand, Strauss seems the type of bloke you'd like to have a beer with whilst discussing fine literature and laughing at some intricate joke. Of course, these are just terrible stereotypes. And probably make me sound like a crazed stalker.

So when June 11th comes round and the World Cup begins, I shall be watching, but as a neutral. I feel excited, like I was for Euro 2008, for the reasons of football. I have no idea who will win. I don't really care who wins. It's in South Africa, which is brilliant. Yes, it still has strong racial tension, but football can bring a nation together. It does in England. Non-football fans suddenly know who's playing in goal, what a winger is and why Wayne Rooney's left foot is so important. Ah, what a wonderful time it will be. All those expectations that will be dashed as soon as England kick off against the USA.

I have enjoyed all these adverts getting behind England though. They're a load of rubbish (yeah, Wayne Rooney's totally going to live in a caravan), but very funny. That Carlsberg advert, with "probably the best team talk in the world" gives me goosebumps. Especially the bit where they say, "For Bobby".

Anyway. This season saw a superb rant by a frustrated QPR fan. And I echo many of his sentiments (apart from the female journalists jibes. Cheers mate. Thanks for encouraging my dreams).
So, inspired by the QPR fan, here is what has made me angry over this season as an Ipswich fan enduring a torrid season. And what has made me begin to wonder whether I am falling out of love with the national game:
I hate Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Alan Shearer, Steve Claridge and every other ex-footballer who thinks they know everything about the game.
I hate how every single national newspaper were humping Newcastle's leg for the entire season and forgot that there were other teams in the Football League.
I hate the fact that Leeds seem to think that they're brilliant, despite the fact they finished second and were pretty close to cocking everything up. Again. 
I hate how Leeds fans will enjoy the previous statement.
I hate the fact the Football League has decided to make the gap between enternally Championship sides and yo-yo sides even bigger due to parachute payments.
I hate the New Wembley. 
I hate that the seats around the tunnel are always empty apart from at England games.
I hate that the press kick up a fuss about the pitch when a team they didn't expect to win wins. Blackpool and Cardiff got on with it. Millwall, Swindon, Rotherham and Dagenham and Redbridge will all get on with it. Man up.
I hate owners that think just because they're putting money into the club they have every right to run it. No. You don't support the bloody team, you pretend you do. 
I hate that you have to have money to be successful.
I hate that only limited numbers of people know what our club's owner looks like.
I hate that some Ipswich fans think we should keep Roy Keane as manager because he's famous.
I hate that some Ipswich fans think that being a family club isn't good. So you want scenes like at Luton? Good one.
I hate that flares are coming into British football. I'm sorry, when you hear a 5 year old on the phone to their father in the terraces saying, "I was scared for you dad", you know that something isn't right.
I hate how over-hyped the Big Four are. However, I have loved the demise of Liverpool this season.
I hate how over-hyped the last day of the Premiership was and yet Sky Sports didn't give a shite about League One, which was actually entertaining and had a higher chance of something unlikely happening. 
In fact, I hate how the Premiership is over-hyped every single season. "It'll be exciting this season. Honest. GET SKY SPORTS!"
I hate Clive Tyldesley.
I hate Peter Drury.
I hate ITV football coverage.
I hate seeing kids at Portman Road wearing Chelsea, Manchester United or Inter Milan hats, shirts or whatever else. You're at Portman Road. You're here to watch Ipswich Town. We may be crap, but at least you have the chance to watch us. 
I hate that Norwich have done well this season. (I'm bitter. Leave me alone)
I hate Robbie Cowling and his unbearable self-promotion. 
I hate the fact I don't have a season ticket anymore.
I hate that I haven't seen Ipswich win away since January 2009.
I hate the fact we're going to finish bottom half of the table again next season. Or worse.

But most of all, I hate that football has made me into a cynical, miserable and pessimistic 18 year old. Then again, I wouldn't have that any other way.
 

The end of an era as I kiss my season ticket and Ipswich Town's season goodbye. 

Miserable weather, miserable game, miserable season. 

Ah, that's better. 

A Tale of Two Halves - Match Report: Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town

Date: 10th April 2010
Result: Nottingham Forest 3-0 Ipswich Town
Scorer for Town: N/A. Because they couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo.

"It was the best of first halves, it was the painfully inadequate and poor of second halves" - Yes, 'A Tale of Two Cities' would start like that if it was about football. Only it'd probably have a Suffolk accent, because that's what Dickens did.


Anyway. After much umming and ahhing I finally managed to persuade my mum that going to Forest would be a worthwhile experience. So on Thursday after pressing redial on the phone for the Ipswich ticket office, we got the tickets. Yay! Well. Not so yay. I haven't seen Ipswich Town win on the road since January 2009. In fact, of the 27 away games I have seen Ipswich Town play, I have witnessed four, yes, four victories. I know it's better than some people, but still, I think I'm cursed. I'll digress because this stuff isn't important.


We arrived in Nottingham at 12:30ish. I've been there before but to go to Trent Bridge and watch England get stuffed by India and Australia (I really should've seen the signs...) I made the mistake of wearing the red away shirt, so I had three kids shout, "YOU REDS!" at me, which made me cough "Ipswich fan" into my hands. I'm a comedy genius. (Tumble weed)

The City Ground (far left) and Trent Bridge (far right) on a lovely day in Nottingham

Onto the match. And the first big surprise of the afternoon was the fact Keane named an unchanged side. Keane's a big fan of chopping and changing. Fair enough if we're playing a similar team to Derby, but we weren't. We were playing a team in the top six with big scary defenders, fast midfielders, strong strikers and Robert Earnshaw. The problems were evident in our side as soon as we kicked off.


The wing, once again, was non-existent. There seemed to be a diamond formation. In the centre circle. Jon Walters looked like he didn't have a clue, Colback's been off form recently and Leadbitter ran around like a headless chicken. Only David Norris seemed to be doing alright, and he was playing in front of the centre backs. Apparently.


However, overall, the first half was pretty decent. It was end to end and Ipswich had a few chances. With Forest blazing shots past the post and over the bar, when the referee blew his half time whistle, we had a right to be caustiously optimistic for the second half because we were getting forward, we were defending well and Forest kept on losing the ball. Who knows, a point like we got against Swansea could be on here!


Half time: 0-0


All cautious optimism was lost in the 47th minute. Rob "Alien" Earnshaw had a shot, Chambers stuck a leg out and we were 1-0 down. It was a very unfortunate goal and it just knocked the confidence of the boys in blue. 


Then, a few minutes later, Damien Delaney was tackled and lay on the ground. It didn't look good, and he hopped off (I mean it, he hopped) to the side and then sat on the ground looking absolutely gutted. Him and Delaney have formed a crucial partnership and have almost certainly helped with the resurrection since the early part of the season. Turns out it could be ligament damage to his ankle, so that's him out for the rest of the season (only three games, I know, I know). Keane decided to put on Tommy Smith rather than David Wright, in a move that was possibly trying to justify us recalling him from the Bees...

Billy Davies had changed tactics at half time, meanwhile Keane had kept it the same. Forest were now punishing us down the wing and beginning to find their shooting range and it was no surprise when the second was put in. Town couldn't string two passes together, Daryl Murphy looked knackered and Connor Wickham was being outmuscled. Any chances we did have were flung over the bar, with Jon Walters being the main culprit. In the 76th minute, the inevitable happened. Robert Earnshaw scored. It was like the Barnsley game where we'd been tormenting Jon Macken, they always score when we start teasing them. 


Whilst I expected us to lose, I didn't anticipate the capitulation in the second half. The way we were firing over the cross bar made me feel like I was watching a rugby game. The die hard away fans over my shoulder and a few rows back were singing, "We only came for the piss up!" and "We're only here for the Hooters!" and it seemed as though the team were as well.


The major concerns from this match were:

• Jack Colback. What's happened to you man? Just because Keane loves you doesn't mean you have to stop playing!
• Jon Walters. A name that has appeared in my concern list all too often this season. I shan't repeat myself again.
• The lack of Counago. Yeah, OK, he's not the best away. And he sometimes won't try. But I'd rather have him than Healy, because Pabs has scored more than once for us. 
• Delaney's injury. I hope it's not too serious because him and McAuley have been ace since the dire start. 
• And finally, the wings. Again. In the words of drunken Delia, "Where are you? Let's be 'aving you!" Because that's where we're getting punished by better teams. And that's where we really, really need to improve. (As well as various other areas, but shush)

Another draw...

"Follow the Town, up or down", as Edward Ebenezer Jeremiah Brown would put it.

This bottom three malarky. Even I, pessimist though I am, did not foresee this at the start of this season.

I'm fed up, as are many other Town fans, of our club being referred to as, "Roy Keane's Ipswich". No, we were Ipswich long before he came al0ng. Over 125 years in fact. In fact, it's hardly Roy Keane's Ipswich at all. Apart from Leadbitter, Delaney, Rosenior and Edwards, he hasn't signed anyone else who plays regularly (Colin Healy *cough*). Instead, he falls out with players for at least 3 months and then shoves them back in the team (Garvan, David/Richard Wright, hopefully not Pablo).

Now that we've signed Stern John (Stern John!), Keane is hoping he'll be a short term fix to a long term problem. We've never had a 20-a-season striker since Darren Bent. In fact, since 2004/05, when we finished 3rd and messed it all up against West Ham in the play-off semi finals. Off trotted Bent to the Promised Land (always feel proud whenever I hear that he's been considered for England or something, despite the fact it was many moons ago). Off went Shefki Kuqi. Between those two and Tommy Miller, we lost over 40 goals. It's something we've never recovered from.

Our defence has always been rubbish. Recently it's been looking slightly less shaky (I write this the day before we play Cardiff away. It could all implode, as is the norm), but now our Bosnian wonder-goalie has been recalled back to Portsmouth and faced Manchester United earlier today. Pfft, who would you rather face? Cardiff? Hahahaha!

I'm not able to go tomorrow (hello Flatford! Again.) but I'm off to Bristol City and Scunthorpe. I've been to Coventry, Middlesbrough, Barnsley (HEARTBREAK), Plymouth and Reading thus far this season, and the only match we've played relatively well in was against Coventry.

So, problems I can see at the moment:

1. Jon Walters - Something's up. He's not been playing as well as we know he can. Is he injured? I doubt it. Does he need a rest? I would probably say yes. He may be a big player for us, but at the moment, he's not playing well. He's far better on the right wing, and yet, I think, Carlos Edwards plays in this position. Which leads me onto my second problem...
2. The midfield - As always. Grant Leadbitter, the poor sod, really has no idea what he's got into. He's by far the best player on the pitch and yet he was stuck next to Liam Trotter for most of the start of the season. Carlos Edwards, on the right, goes too far into the middle, leaving the entire right wing exposed. Poor Liam Rosenior! Oh David Norris and Luciano Civelli, curse your knobbly knees!
3. The defence - If only they learnt to defend for over 90 minutes. We'd be mid-table and laughing right now. But no. Instead, what happens? Last minute equalisers against Sheffield United and Watford. Last minute winner against Barnsley. Injuries have not helped. Nor has Gareth McAuley deciding to play like an idiot again. He's got better now. He's remembered how to play.
4. Roy Keane - PLEASE KEEP THE SAME BLOODY LINE-UP FOR CONSECUTIVE GAMES AT LEAST ONCE THIS SEASON. I don't care if Pablo runs over your dog or David Wright tells you your beard looks like tiny hamsters are gnawing at your face, don't drop players who have played well for ones who are clearly crap. Pablo is an invaluable player. He holds the ball up. If the chance comes to him, he will always try and tap it in. To me, we appointed Roy Keane to try and attract the big news media. To make Ipswich Town more famous. Boy, did that happen. But for all the wrong reasons. Now the media vultures circle above Keane's head waiting for the next outburst to write about.
5. Finally, how I miss Gio. But he's not going to come back. Evidently, the problems were there before Magilton got sacked.

In reality, we're going to be in the bottom three at Christmas. Fantastic.

It's going to be a long, long season.

Match Report: Ipswich Town vs Coventry City

Date: 9th August 2009
Result: Coventry 2-1 Ipswich
Scorer for Town: Walters

Football's back! A day late for Ipswich and Coventry fans, but now, the Football League has officially kicked off.

All the talk before the match was of the man in charge of Ipswich Town, Roy Keane. Chris Coleman seemed pleased about this (and then suitably smug after the match), meaning Coventry could give Ipswich a surprise.

The match was preceeded by a minute's applause for Ipswich (and football) legend, Sir Bobby Robson. The away fans in the Jewson End began the chant, "There's only one Bobby Robson", before the PA announcer even had the chance to say there would be a minute's applause. It set off applause from everyone in the Ricoh Arena, as Sky Blues and Tractor Boys united for a great man. One Ipswich fan waved a flag that had a picture of Sir Bobby on it, whilst many had shirts that had tributes to Sir Bobby on the back. The giant television screen in the corner between the Tesco Stand and the Jewson End had a picture of Robson with 1933-2009. An emotional beginning to mourn a hero of Suffolk.

Once the game kicked off though, the focus was on the future, and what Town fans could anticipate for the coming season. They started brightly, with most of the action occuring at the opposite end, and this prompted the fans to start singing, "We're gonna score in a minute".

Someone did. But it wasn't for Ipswich. Clinton Morrison made the most of a complete mix up in Ipswich's defence to delicately scoop the ball into the net, over Alex Bruce's head. Richard Wright had come storming out, and a lack of communication between him and the captain, Gareth McAuley, left Ipswich 1-0 down and the Town fans frustrated. Coventry fans appeared out of the many, many empty seats to start boasting about their lead. But they didn't care about the Town fans. They cared about Keane.

The momentum rapidly changed. Suddenly, Ipswich couldn't win a ball. The defence looked very weak, apart from Delaney who started alright on the left. When Town won the ball, they desperately tried to get their passing game going. They did. Only to the wrong colour shirts. Liam Trotter's touch was too heavy. Lee Martin and David Norris just could not get into the game, and many forgot that Jaime Peters had started. Only Walters, who looked fitter and faster, having seemingly put his injury woes from last season behind him, looked likely to make a difference.

After 25 minutes, Ipswich found themselves 2-0 down. Again, the defence was left being questioned by the Town fans sat behind their goal. McAuley, who seemed to have forgotten that he'd actually improved towards the end of last season, decided he couldn't do anything about Clinton Morrison on his knee, as the City striker headed the ball into the net. Frustration was soon replaced by joy as Ipswich got the next goal from Jon Walters. It was a lovely finish, and it gave Town hope. They began to look like the team that kicked off the match 40 minutes ago. But it still didn't stop Roy Keane storming off down the tunnel before the half time whistle.

Half time: 2-1 to Coventry
Ipswich began the second half in the same fashion as they started the first. They looked like they were going to "score in a minute" (as the fans put it!), but Coventry's keeper had different ideas, as did the officials and Town themselves. Town fired over the bar from free headers at least three times, Pim Balkenstein being the major culprit.

In the 54th minute, from another corner, David Norris and Jon Stead collided, causing Norris to stay down for a while with a knee injury. The one thing that Stead had come into contact with, and he'd caused it an injury, rather than a goal. Norris painfully limped off to be replaced by Owen Garvan, and when Norris limped in front of the travelling Tractor Boys, he was greeted with a round of applause. He was beginning to get into the game. David Wright offered Norris his shoulder as support, and this was greeted with further applause. It didn't look good for Norris, and he looked fairly grim himself.

Town pressed on. Still desperate for that equaliser. Keane brought off the ineffective Stead and put on 16 year old Connor Wickham. He tried, and almost got his reward, when the linesman's flag had been raised. Town fans were not happy. They hadn't been with that linesman all day. Jon Walters came close, only to be denied by the Coventry goalkeeper, who was very impressive. Throughout the first half, Town didn't get to the second ball. Finally, in the second half, it happened. Someone won the second ball. Unfortunately, they didn't do anything with it and it was the only time they actually got to the second ball throughout the remainder of the match.

Overall, disappointing not to come away with anything, but on another day, Town could've won this match. However, there are good signs for this season. As long as Keano sorts out the defence! Coventry fans were very disappointing, there were more empty blue seats than there were fans. 16000 for the opening game of the season is not great, but then, it's the summer holidays and the match was on Sky Sports.

Town Player ratings:
Richard Wright 5 - Stuck in no man's land for their first goal, didn't have much to do second half, but did make an excellent save towards the end of the match.
Alex Bruce 5 - Really not his greatest game. Would've preferred to have seen him in central defence with McAuley.
Gareth McAuley 5 - Disappointing, should've done better for Clinton Morrison's second.
Pim Balkenstein 5 - Again, disappointing. Wasted many chances to score, and clearances were a bit dodgy.
Damien Delaney 6 - Was good first half. Average and slow second.
David Norris 6 - Started poorly, but seemed to be getting into the game until injury.
Liam Trotter 5 - Couldn't hold onto the ball. Kept passing to the wrong colour, and some of these passes were dire. Would've preferred him to come off than Peters.
Jaime Peters 6 - Shouldn't have come off when he did, as he was looking threatening. Looking forward to seeing more of him this season. Finally.
Jon Walters 8 - By far the best player for Town. Seemed to have shaken off injury problems and transfer rumours from last season. Nice to have him back.
Lee Martin 6 - Can expect something from him this season, like Norris, seemed to be getting into the match in the second half.
Jon Stead 5 - Like having a lame duck up front.
Subs:
Owen Garvan 6 - Added stability to the midfield.
Connor Wickham 6 - Denied by the linesman. Expect to see more of him this season.
Tamas Priskin 5 - Needed longer studs as he kept slipping over.
Note: You can probably see that this report is from the Ipswich Town view. I am doing reports as an Ipswich Town fan, to give my view on how the match went for us, from where I was sititng. Please be aware, I will be as critical about my team, as I am about yours. I will give credit where it's due, and I will try to sum it up in the most neutral way I can, but I can't promise much!

I will only do matches that I go to, not ones that I have listened to or watched on Sky, as I feel you don't get the full picture there, as you rely on other people's opinions.