The Diary of a Tractor Girl

No excuses for the Blues self-destruction at Elland Road

2012-01-25T00:21:00.000-08:00

If Paul Jewell were to be sacked today, I really don't think I'd feel any sorrow.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not starting any protests to demand he be removed from my club. (As I've long been saying - changing managers on a regular basis is not going to get us anywhere.) But I am rapidly losing patience with him.

It's performances like that at Elland Road on Saturday that cause the uncertainties for me: a first half good enough to show a decent side developing. But a second half so poor you feel relegation is all we deserve.

I really enjoyed watching the first half: I tweeted in the break that, though it wasn't quite what I'd call 'a good game', I thought we were well on top of Leeds and controlling the game.

We genuinely looked like a good attacking side, with Lee Martin being instrumental to most - if not all - of our chances on goal.

Though on the face of it Drury's goal was certainly helped along by a little bit of luck, going on the run of play at the time it was more than deserved. And had JET's thunder shot found the back of the net instead of rattling the bar, I feel we might have gone on to win all 3 points.

But, despite the good impressions the Blues made in the first 45 minutes, there was a distinct lack of optimism in the bar at half time (the only part of the away section, by the way, that looked like it belonged in this decade and not the 80's). Though the Blue Army were more than happy with what they'd seen in the first half, there was a definite sense of dread for what would happen in the second.

Of course, as is Town's way at the moment, they more than lived up to those expectations. Once again, it seemed like a different team turned out from the tunnel.

Lee Martin suddenly became invisible (and I don't just mean because we had a TV gantry blocking our view of anything on the right hand side of the pitch). Having been so influential in the early part of the game, it seemed impossible that he had no part in the latter stages of the game.

But, my friend Matt pointed out to me that Martin was now adopting a 'zonal marking' style of play and that restricted the affect he had on the game massively. Presumably Jewell's decision was to use Martin to try and stop us conceding any goals: a big mistake and I felt this was the biggest influence on the turnaround in the result.

Besides the sending off.

With regards to that, I think it's harsh to blame McCarthy entirely. To me it was an instinctive reaction and a silly mistake - which he realised straight away. He came off his line far too soon, but he tried to recocver and suddenly it became a choice between handling the ball outside the area and being sent off, or allowing Leeds to score.

Perhaps rather than publicly slating the youngster we could say: 'everybody makes mistakes mate, thank you for taking the red card'. For let's not forget, had he not handled the ball it would have certainly been a goal, but the resulting free kick was sent over the bar.

From the moment Alex was sent off though, the sense of impending doom became stronger and stronger. Ipswich Town had hit the self destruct button, again, and all we could do was watch.

Of course the second most significant part of the game was Sonko's... what can I call it without being mean? Sonko's mistake.

With a bit of perspective, I can now say I genuinely feel for the defender. He was clearly devastated that he'd made that mistake. But, that doesn't get us our three points back.

After the game, another friend, Sam, said 'in all my years of supporting Ipswich, I've not seen anything as dire as that'. I thought that summed the game up perfectly!

It's the school-boy errors that are wearing me down now, the back four are making the most simple of mistakes and I'm fed up of it. I've lost count of how many times I said on Saturday 'it was a rule I learnt in my first training session when I played'.

NEVER pass across goal; if in doubt boot, it out; talk to each other and mark your man. Why has none of this been followed in The Blues side in recent games? For me this is where Paul Jewell is truly failing the most. If he cannot even get the players performing basic football, how can we expect him to build a side worthy of Premiership football?

Jewell in, Jewell out. He can shake it all about for all I care at the moment.

For all my hoping that he was the man to sort us out and get us back to the Premier League- I'm just not sure what I think any more.

Following the catalogue of errors that were once again on display this weekenbd, he's on strike one for me. 2 more and I'm joining the Jewell Out camp permanently.

Name one thing we have in common with Leeds United...

2012-01-21T00:21:00.000-08:00

Three years ago I moved to Yorkshire from East Anglia for work purposes: a move I share with one very special former Ipswich Town player. Can you figure out who?!

Leeds and Ipswich share a lot in their histories: Huge success in the past has brought respect to both teams but the difficult financial times that followed have seen them slip down the league tables in recent decades.

And, in those more recent years, one player is proud to say he has lead them to victory in the Play Off Finals. This player has also captained both sides, whilst for us he became Club Captain during his final season in Suffolk...

Have you figured out who it is yet?!

Richard Naylor is a name that cunjures up one special image in the minds of Town fans.

I think for me this was the moment I knew we were going up...

When Bam Bam came on as a substitute for David Johnson in the Play Off Final in May 2000, he played a massive part in a game that no Town fan will ever forget!

So, as I return to the city where both he and I found our first Yorkshire jobs: I thought I'd take you down memory lane a little with an interview from the man himself.

My chat with Richard was originally published in the Doncaster Rovers matchday programme (RTID) during my work experience with them and I am grateful for the permission to use it on my blog.

Richard, tell us a bit about yourself, you were born in Yorkshire weren’t you?

I was born in Leeds, then I moved to Ipswich Town straight from school when I was 16. I did my apprenticeship in Suffolk and played there for 13 years. Then, I got the opportunity to move back to my home town club, Leeds, a few years ago. I spent two and half years there and really enjoyed it. But when that came to an end I wanted to stay playing in Yorkshire and Doncaster was definitely the best option for me. I was pleased to join Rovers in the summer.

You joined Ipswich at a very young age, was it always your plan to play football?

I signed for Ipswich when I was 14, they’ve got a good scouting network across the country and I used to travel down. It was a really good set up down there and gave me a good football education.

Do you prefer to play as a centre back, as you are now, or as a forward, as you did for a long time at Ipswich ?

I have played as centre back for more than ten years now, but when I was younger I played up front a little and had some success in that position. I broke into the side at Ipswich as a centre forward and played quite a few games for them up front, but I’ve played centre half for a long time and don’t think I’m capable of playing anywhere else now!

Rovers travelled to Ipswich earlier in the season and won, did you enjoy going back there?

I went back with Leeds previously but it’s always nice to go back there, the fans gave me a great reception and it’s nice to see some friendly faces. Obviously the playing staff change when you leave, but the people behind the scenes stay the same most of the time and there’s a lot of really nice people down there.

In 2009 you moved to Leeds United when they were in League One, did that fulfil an ambition for you?

I feel lucky I was able to do that, a lot of people don’t get the chance to play for their home town club and moving back home has been nice for me. I’d lived away for a long time so it was nice for my Mum and Dad that I moved back home and now live locally. You can’t plan these things in football though, you have to go where people want you and I know I’m fortunate to have been able to play for Leeds: for me it was an honour and a privilege.

You were club captain at Ipswich and captain at Leeds too, is that a you enjoy and would you like to do that at Rovers?

I don’t mind really, I conduct my business in the same way whether I’m captain or not. I think when you’re captain you get some added responsibility which can be good and can be bad. It’s something I’ve enjoyed doing in the past but at the moment I’m more than happy just helping out in whatever way I can.

Looking back on your career so far, what would you say has been the highlight?

Gaining promotion with Ipswich to the Premier League was fantastic: I scored at Wembley when we got promoted in the Play Offs and played in the Premier League for them in the next two seasons, which was a fantastic time. Then representing my home town club, being captain for Leeds and helping them to a promotion, the two promotions were definitely the highlight. I played in the UEFA Cup with Ipswich as well, I played against Inter Milan at the San Siro and I look back on those memories fondly.

Your nickname in Ipswich was ‘Bam Bam’ (after Barney Rubble’s son in ‘The Flinstones’), has that followed you up here?

Fortunately not! You tend to pick up nicknames as you go through football but as you get older they get more sensible. I’ve grown out of that one now!

Dear Mr Evans, thank you for your letter...

2012-01-20T00:14:00.000-08:00

In the most recent match-day programme Marcus Evans sent out a rare direct message to the fans.

As inconsistent results continue into the New Year, our club balances just four points above the Championship's relegation zone. So it's difficult, as a fan, not to feel concern for the direction our club is going.

Evan's words apparently try to calm these fears and, for what it's worth, I do think he makes an effort to answer the questions we all ask of him when we're discussing The Blues amongst ourselves.

(A full transcription of the article can be read here)

In the days since said interview was published it has stirred debate among fans. Interestingly, there have been a number of different interpretations of what he had to say. What set out to perhaps reduce worries, appears to have raised more questions.

Overall, I was happy with it: it made me feel that Marcus Evans is thinking along the same lines as me. He talks about the good run we had earlier in the season and his belief that this was a sign of things to come.

We had that good run of games when we were unbeaten in six matches and I can remember us going into the home match against Crystal Palace where a 1-0 win would have seen us move into the top two in the Championship. We lost that game 1-0 instead and that awful run of seven successive defeats followed. It looked like number eight at Barnsley until the incredible turnaround at Oakwell gave us a glimpse of our early season form and what the team is capable of.

A section of the Blue Army believe the fact he has chosen to remain unknown, besides his name and business history, suggests he wants to keep his distance from the club. I have never believed this and his answers to these questions have enabled me to relate to him because I have been feeling the same way. I particularly like the question where he's asked: how does your job at Town differ from your day-to-day job.

I don’t go around punching the air in my normal day-to-day job! Or hold my head in my hands! It’s a game of emotions, of highs and lows, and we’ve had plenty of them this season. It grips you though. For 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon, it’s all that I’m focussed on.

A man who doesn't care about this club doesn't go around with his head in his hands, or indeed punching the air in delight, in my humble opinion.

I also appreciate his honesty about the position we are in at the moment. Again, he relates to the fans feelings by expressing his disappointment and his expectations that we could do better.

As we stand at the moment, we’re obviously in a disappointing position. There have been some highs but too many lows, as there seems to have been since I have been involved with the Club.

However, there is something to the argument that this is 'typical PR talk, what else would he say?' We would be angry if he told us, 'everything's going to be alright, there's nothing to worry about'. Here I think is the problem many people have with the interview: it doesn't reveal anything or explain WHY we are in such a poor position. But then I don't think anyone can explain that: it seems as much a shock to the club management as it is the media and to us as fans.

The talk of 'long-term' vs 'short-term' planning has been a common subject of debate among online Town forums recently too, following Jewell's admission that he had been going for a short-term fix but now wanted to concentrate on a long term solution.

Evans appears to agree with this:

It’s clear to me that creating a quick fix within any football club is extremely hard to achieve however deep the owner’s pockets might be! The Championship this year is littered with clubs that would be regarded as underperformers, where high profile managers and significant investment levels have not resulted in performances on the pitch or in league positions that would have been expected... It is clear to me that producing a team that will consistently push for promotion and eventually join the Premier League, is about a long-term development programme.

I'll never forget the discussion my Dad and I had with two fellow Britannia Stand residents at the last game of the 2010/11 season. One gentleman said to us, 'I don't care if it takes us three or four years to get promoted: I'd rather do that than go up straight away and come back down again'.

I'd like to think that's the opinion of the majority of Town fans, and it's frustrating that the powers that be seem so far behind us in that thinking. Having said that, it is reassuring to hear Evans confirm his plan to take the club forward now.

On the face of it, that quote could be interpreted as simply telling us what we want to hear; But Evans has allowed himself to go on record now, he will not be stupid enough to go back on his promise and risk ruining his reputation, I'd have thought.

Perhaps the most significant quote from Evans was his opinions of the current manager in charge of his football team. The ongoing Jewell In/ Jewell Out debate gathers speed with every week and every poor result and in response to thise we had heard from Paul Jewell that Evans told former Town transfer target Sean St Ledger only last week that Jewell was going nowhere. But is was good to hear it straight from the horse's mouth was good and at least provides some stability to the club at a fragile time.

I have spoken to Paul about my plans here, to build a team that can reach and then compete at the highest level. To achieve that we need stability and so long as our manager and coaching team demonstrate the knowledge and clear ability to take us forward, I see little point in restarting the project every season by switching managers.

Of course some fans would argue this shows Evans is as clueless as Paul Jewell and both should be removed from Portman Road as soon as possible along with their friend Simon Clegg.

Personally, I would rather hear that the staff behind the scenes at Ipswich are pulling together and battling through these tough times, whether it is right or wrong that it be with the current trio in charge. That I can support and get behind; a disgruntled owner and a manager who's terrified of losing his job I cannot.

With all that said though, I do think Evans' interview lacks a serious amount of depth. Presumably the questions have been pre-approved by himself and the answers offer little insight into the man behind the name, the face that we cannot see and the hands in which we're all supposed to put our dreams for the future of our beloved club. I think he owes us a little more than what appears to be a very well planned interview with questions probably edited in minute detail by a good PR team.

What I would much prefer to see is a question and answer session between Evans and the fans of his club. Dave Gooderham from the Green Un and East Anglian Daily Times has gone some way towards this by collecting questions from Town fans to Evans and sending those into the club. I'd love to see a response to this as it seems to sum up the general feeling of our fan base and poses some sensible questions.

In the mean time though, I'm more than happy with the message Marcus Evans has sent to us. Whether it was intended as a PR stunt or not, the fact that he's taken the time to release an interview is applaudable (though also the least he can do) and I for one cannot argue with anything he has to say.

So, for now, thank you for your time Mr Evans, we look forward to speaking to you again soon.

Why it's a good thing that Paul Jewell is trending on Twitter

2012-01-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

On my way to work this morning I saw a sticker in the back window of a car that said: 'My daughter plays rugby' in bold, pink letters.

At first I thought, 'well that's a bit of an odd thing to have advertised in your car'.

But when I thought about it more I realised that, actually, it's not. This couple are doing what they can to dis-spell the myth that women do not belong in sport, or at least in certain sports like football or rugby.

The same could be said for Paul Jewell's calamitious comments last night. At first glance you think it doesn't really mean anything: he was angry at the officials for missing a blatant penalty decision.

I could even go further in his defence and say the reporters question shows the initial signs of 'sexism' by raising her gender into the debate, and Jewell just takes his lead.

But you have to look further into this debate to understand why Paul Jewell has today been trending on Twitter, not just in the UK but worldwide.

In recent months women's sport has taken a few knocks: It was reported only last week that participation in women's football was down by a third. A third! Imagine the football league with a third of it's teams removed.

Girl's and women's involvement in sport has been attributed to a number of things, the media being one of them. But to me what is the biggest cause is the underlying belief that women are inferior when it comes to football.

Meanwhile the nominations for the recent BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards were announced with the notable absence of any female stars at all.

Now I'm not going to take anything away from the nominees themselves, they all earned the right to be there. But the fact that female sports stars were overlooked entirely was significant as it suggested an underlying feeling that women are not as important as men in sport.

Having been going to watch Town play for 18 years, I am happy to say that for the huge majority of the time I have not experienced a negative reaction to the fact that I am a women involved in football. Sometimes people are impressed, but more often than not they are indifferent - which is the way I like it.

But there are still signs that people either disapprove or don't consider me on an even keel with my male counterparts.

Take my journey home from Hull last weekend as a good example: as I passed through Doncaster train station I was joined by a large group of Notts County fans, all male. They were a good bunch, in high spirits from their FA Cup victory and when they sang 'get your tits out for the lads' at me I took it in jest and just rolled my eyes.

But what I did find disturbing from my conversation with them was their absolute surprise that I was not attending the match with my boyfriend. Genuinely, they were astounded that, as a woman, I wasn't by his side and that he had allowed me to go out to watch football on my own. Honest. I'm not even exaggerating.

And as for when I told them he was a Blades fan they were speechless. Presumably, as a woman, I ought to follow his lead and support the same team he does. How can I go against his wishes? Thankfully, Kev isn't like that so I can continue with my independence of life as a travelling town fan.

Referring all this back to Jewell, I don't think those County fans meant any more offence than he did. It was said without a second thought, but that's what I find upsetting. In this day and age, the thought that women in football are inferior to the men is totally abismal and should not be allowed to just go un-noticed.

Paul Jewell should have been more professional. Having already caused a stir at a press conference this week with his apporach to questions, he really should have been watching what he said. I can understand he was angry, we all were because that result was totally unjustified. BUT, the fact that it even crossed his, the journalist's or even the fan's minds is what has made this such an important argument.

I'm not going to say Jewell out. But I'm no longer so forcefully saying Jewell in.

In Jewell I am rapidly losing my faith.

But in the Town players I will always trust.

The last light of hope at Ipswich Town

2011-12-09T00:18:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday night I sat through a freezing cold 4:0 defeat at Burnley and it was gutting.

I spent the whole drive home in deep thought, trying to make sense of what is going wrong with my beloved Ipswich. I came to the conclusion that the most significant contributing factor to the 6 straight defeats was a lack of confidence.

When Burnley's first goal went in the players' shoulders visibly dropped, after a good starting ten minutes or so they were completely deflated... and you just sensed the ball would be plucked from our own net a few more times that night.

Meanwhile, the online forums filled with calls for Paul Jewell's head and frustrated fans bemoaning the terrible performance from his players. Rightly so, in the case of the latter. But my concern became that in times like this it is so easy to shout about what is wrong with the world: when really a little bit of support could go a long way.

So I decided to write a letter to let Jewell and the boys know that there are some fans out here who have resolved to keep the faith. We hope and pray that this will be the start of something big, but win lose, or draw we will be behind them.

The letter was not meant to be a balanced view of what they are doing right or wrong, it was meant to be a signal of hope: here's hoping it might make the difference tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who wrote to me asking to be involved - you are all truly wonderful fans.

A letter to Paul Jewell and the Ipswich Town team:
From your most loyal of fans.

The recent run of defeats at Ipswich has lead to a lot of complaints from Town fans (perhaps deservedly so). But we're writing today to let you know that the Blue Army is still behind you. And we always will be.

It can be easy for the disgruntled voices to become the loudest voices at times like this, so this letter is an attempt to balance those out and show you there are still some wonderful fans that are worth fighting for.

Nothing will ever make us forget the trip to Peterborough in August. Having enjoyed the build up to the 2011/2012 season, it is impossible to describe how much it hurt to see the team we love lose 7:1. But, do you remember those fans that waited to applaud you at the end? That was us. We wanted to show you that we believed there was so much more to see from you.

A statement we all still stand by today, despite the recent run of defeats. When we watched you play against Coventry, Middlesbrough, West Ham and Brighton, that was the team we'd dreamt of seeing all summer. And we have undoubting faith that you can be that team again.

For when you joined Ipswich Town you joined an amazing club with some wonderful fans, they really are both things to be proud of. The history of this club is what makes it so special, now it's time for you to become a part of it.

From the wins in Europe before I was even born, to winning promotion through the Play Offs at Wembley, through to that first year in the Premier League where we finishing 5th and then travelling to the San Siro the next season. Even up to results as recent as that Carling Cup win over Arsenal last year and the 6:0 annihilation of Doncaster Rovers: this club has provided us with the most wonderful of memories and for that reason we support you through the good times but, more importantly, we'll back you through the bad.

For we have total faith that you will one day be adding to those precious memories, please have faith in yourselves too and turn things around for us.

This was always be going to be a very difficult year, I'm not naïve enough to ignore the league position, terrible current form and difficult run of fixtures we are about to come up against. But, just as Mr Jewell has said the fans lifted the team against Brighton: I believe the fans have a huge part to play to help you through this year. So this letter is to let you know that we are doing just that.

Every time I go to a game, I am in awe the wonderful people I get to spend my time with. Be it on my own to Bristol just to catch a first glimpse at the new signings. Be it by coach from Newmarket with my Dad, who's supported Town for over 50 years (despite my Grandad being a Norwich fan!). Or, be it on a cold Tuesday night in Burnley where hundreds of Town fans battled through traffic on the A1 to show their support for you, despite dreading yet another defeat.

These fans never fail to amaze me: they're so full of positivity, so kind to one another and most of all they love their club more than anything else in the world.

You are all a part of that now: please remember this every time you step on to the pitch. We are the Blue Army forever and always.

In Jewell and our boys we trust.

Yours Sincerely,

The fans of Ipswich Town Football Club

Amy Downes

Chris Andrews

Simon Cox, Cape Town
‘Forever and always ITFC’

Ross
‘Tell them I will give them a four second hug of reassurance each’

Daniel Hill

Paul Herring
‘I have total belief the boys can turn this around’

Jon Bayliss

Danny Pearson

Matt Whiting

James Hacker

Liz White

Andrea Copping
‘Paul Jewell’s Blue and White army’

Helen Royce

Aston

Andy Cross
‘I am still right behind PJ and the lads’

Darren Rice

Steve Clark

Sam Bakey

Will Driver
‘Think positive!’

Sam Page

Alasdair Ross

Ryan Adams

Ste

Bekah Downes

Zoe Wright

Simon Reynolds

Leigh Whatling ‘Bobby Robson didn’t start too well; but we stick with him and look what happened!’

Matt Stannard

Sam Stannard

Mark W
‘Jewell is the man with the credentials to build this team over the next few years’

Frances Johnson

Hannah Williams
‘Keep going boys, we’ll be there through the good and the bad’

Anthony Steele
‘Jewell will get it right’

Andrew Barnard

Aprille Branton

Bev Hurst

Chloe Binnington

Haydn Lyons

Nick Chenery

Jordan Mitchell

Graham Downes

Jeremy Crawley

Bobby Kilometre

Matt Harrison ‘Keep the faith’

Allen Harris

Craig Tayler

Stephen Bailey

Fran

Town's rollercoaster season takes another twist against Millwall

2011-11-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

How many emotions can one football team make you feel just three months into the season?

Elation: Check (Bristol Away)
Anger: Check (Peterborough Away)
Pride: Check (Coventry at Home)
Hope: Check (West Ham Away)
A little bit Lucky: Check (Portsmouth at Home)

Pure Frustration: Check (Millwall Away)

August's trip to Peterborough was devastating because it highlighted what a mess the side were in at the time. Yet, there was still a feeling of anticipation for how Paul Jewell would respond to that result.

Having recovered so well by making our way up towards the play off places, it was truly disappointing to see the boys sink to another low point at Millwall on Saturday. As keeper David Stockdale said: 'We just didn't see it coming'.

The most frustrating thing about the trip to South London was the lack of good football on show. Every other poor result so far this season (Peterborough aside) has produced some good examples of how we are improving; sadly there are few to report this time.

One positive to take from the game was Jimmy's beautiful goal, how proud I am that I got to see that.

Sadly, my beloved curly haired one didn't have a great game, again, with his lack of fitness being highlighted at The New Den. Once more I raise the point that when Jimmy has a poor game; so does the rest of the team.

What I would say though is that his passion for the game was clearly still there. In the build up to his goal you did get the feeling he was about to pull something special out of the hat. He just seemed to be saying, 'You know what, enough of this farting about. Let's get a goal back'. He was pushing forward and organising the midfield well, if only for a short space of time. We need to see more of that this year, but Jimmy doesn't need me to tell him that - he already knows.

I still firmly believe he was the best signing Jewell made this season, thanks to his influence on and off the pitch with players and fans alike. For that reason I hope to see him on the team sheet week in, week out: you can only get match fit by playing full matches and regularly.

Meanwhile, David Stockdale also had the Town fans on their feet numerous times and it is harsh on him that the goal difference has once again entered into negative figures. The youngster is another shining light at Portman Road: his professionalism is an example to us all, astounding too when you consider his age.

I would be foolish, though, if I ignored the problems that were clearly exsistent in our game on Saturday. There are plenty of things to be learnt from our defeat and improve on for the visit of Doncaster this coming weekend.

Most importantly, we need to develop the side to compensate for injuries and suspensions. The loss of Super Sonko and Lee Bowyer in the first half had a profound affect on the team and the challenge of regrouping after that appeared to be too much. Saturday was a visible example that, though we have an excellent line up for the first team, our fringe players just aren't good enough yet.

One might argue that the loss of some key players this weekend provided the chance for our subs to shine, I was certainly hoping that JET and Kennedy would take that opportunity. Sadly they haven't quite lit any fireworks... yet.

In JET we have someone with the potential to become an excellent player. He's becoming a bit of a Marmite character at Ipswich (you either love him, or you hate him), but I hope he will use that criticism constructively and emerge a stronger player - he can learn a lot from this league and I'm excited to see what we have to come from him.

Whilst in Kennedy we have an excellent defender. I was impressed with him in the first game of the season against Bristol. As this was pre-Sonko and Collins, he took on a more central role with Ingimarsson and controlled the back line well. Perhaps he was too far out of his comfort zone this weekend?

Of course, the trouble with his 'discomfort zone' at Millwall was the prescence of Jay Simpson: any defender would find marking him a tough challenge!

Finally, the style of football Millwall play just isn't suited to us: The 'hit and hope, 'have it', hoof the ball as high as you can' style. We like to get it on the ground and actually play some passing football which, credit to Millwall, they prevented us doing.

What we need to do now is show that we are willing to grab the game by the proverbial balls, shake it up and play it exactly how we want to. In a parallel universe, where we hadn't lost two key players to injury, we might have been strong enough to organise the game in a way that suited us. I doubt the Lions would have stood a chance against the confident Ipswich side that beat Brighton.

Sadly that team went temporarily AWOL on Saturday. But you mark my words, they'll be back - bigger and better than before.

Man of the Match: Just as he was at Peterborough, I believe Stockdale was absolutely key on Saturday. The saves he made were crucial and allowed us that possiblity of getting back into the game. Had it not been for him the scoreline would have been far worse.

I've also been thoroughly impressed with his response since the game, he is determined to continue learning and improving - what an asset he is for us.

Also making their mark: Sonko and Bowyer were noticeable by their absence.

I felt that without Sonks we appeared rather 'lopsided': as the right hand side of the formation was pushing forward, poor Kennedy was left dealing with Simpson on his own. I wonder whether the impressive figure and energy of Sonko might have been more intimidating to the Millwall star and thus his threat elliminated, but we will never know.

Meanwhile; though the jury is still out on Bowyer for many Town fans, it seemed to me there was a gaping hole without him. The organisation, control and experience he brings to the midfield, descended into fear - something I hoped we'd banished at home against Coventry. I wish him a speedy recovery but the fact does remain that we need other options in our challenge for promotion.

At the other end of the pitch I thought Liam Trotter did an excellent job of showing Town what they have missed out on since he left Suffolk. I was a big fan of the lad, mainly because of his kind and humble attitude off the pitch but also for his enthusiasm on it. I was thoroughly impressed with his performance, he seemed to be involved in every attacking move the Lions built in the first half.

Bekah's Funny Moment Could be one of a large number of pre and post-match antics we witnessed with the Blue Army in London Bridge. My personal favourite came as we made our way to the ground: Off they marched down a tunnel into the train station... singing along, drawing strange looks from fellow travellers but enjoying every moment thoroughly... Only to find the group had managed to lead itself into the station through an 'exit only' route.... 'We are the Ipswich, we went the wrong way...'

May I take this opportunity to thank Millwall and the British Transport Police for their professionalism. To say that I was a little dubious about booking tickets for this game would be an understatement, but I can now highly recommend it to all football fans. A train can be caught directly to the ground, where you'll find a separate walkway provided for away fans, this path lined with police and the staff at the stadium itself also helpful and professional.

It could be argued that no trouble would be expected at a Town vs Millwall match, but I did feel really safe and that's largely thanks to the staff and police at the ground.

With the exception of the alleged incident at Liverpool Street, Town fans have received some good reports online: one Millwall fan tweeted 'Good to see the ITFC fans so humble in defeat. Fair play to them and good luck for the rest of the season'.

Which leads me to the Highlight of the Day. Having grown up away from Ipswich, my sister and I have never experienced going to football with a group of friends. Though I would never change going to Portman Road with my Dad whilst I grew up, and still cherish the chances I get to do that, the ITFC Tweeps have provided me with an opportunity to experience this other side of being a football fan. I was really proud to be a part of that group who were determined to have a good day and support their team, again. Nice one and thank you to every one of the 1600+ who made the journey down!

So onwards and upwards, as we face the twists and turns the rest of the season will bring. This latest match wasn't our best performances, but I refuse to believe that we have already hit our peak this year. Jewell is building an entirely new team and we must give him time.

Fitness has, by his own admission, been a major issue for us - but that can only improve with more games and a little patience. I am sure that by the end of the year we will be pointing to the experience and determination of our side as the key to our success.

This weekend was a stark reminder that this could be an inbetween year for us, one to build on in future years. Look at QPR, Swansea and even - dare I say it - Narwich. Alot can be learnt from the way they took time to build their team and work hard together to earna thoroughly deserved promotion.

I would prefer to witness the strongest team possible win promotion in a couple of years time, than have us go up this year and come straight back down again. Teams like Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal would have made us suffer far worse than a 3 goal defeat.

I'd really rather not got through 9-0 again, would you?

Have faith that one day soon we will be the team winning 7-1 against Peterborough, 4-1 against Millwall and even 5-1 against Narwich.

The journey there will continue to be a rollercoaster: but I have no doubt we will look back on it fondly.

In Jewell We Trust

Why the defeat against Palace really doesn't matter all that much

2011-10-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: there's a small part of me that's relieved we lost on Saturday.

The recent run of good form has been a fascinating watch, and thoroughly deserved after the work the boys put in to turn things around following Peterborough away.

But it had to end some time.

I, for one, am reasonably content that this weekend's defeat came at the hands of a club who are on the up this season, the team that have surprised everyone with their equally good form, fair play to them. As Paul Jewell said after the game: 'Let's give Palace some credit, they played well. They gave us problems with their pace and we didn't give them problems.'

Of course it was disappointing that the team couldn't put in a better performance in front of this season's biggest crowd so far. But Paul Jewell has repeatedly said you cannot fault the boys for their enthusiasm. It's a shame that we look, as he put it, 'flat' at the moment. But I am certain he will figure out how to get them past that. In Jewell I Trust.

I think the result was best summed up for me by the one and only Jimmy Bullard, also in the EADT: 'You get days like that. In sport in general, not just football. I play golf: One day you turn up and swing well and you think you've cracked it. Then the next time you play it bites you on the bum. You have to forget about it and move on'.

When all's said and done: it is just one game, life goes on.

A statement that has taken on a lot more meaning for me in the last three days.

Ipswich Town are my first love, the single most important thing to me after my family and closest friends. But my second love is MotoGP and this weekend my heart was broken.

24 year old, upcoming super-star rider Marco Simoncelli was killed in a horrific crash at the Grand Prix in Sepang. It is a great loss to motorsport, the second in a week following the equally sad passing of Dan Wheldon.

His death has hit me so hard, I realised today it has upset me just as much as it might if it had been one of my beloved Town players (God forbid).

For those less aware of the incredible and exciting world of the MotoGP this touching obituary from the BBC's Matt Roberts explains all. Marco Simoncelli was the one with the MASSIVE afro. He was an amazing talent who was just beginning to reach the top of his game, having moved to the top class of bike racing only last season. On top of this he was such a cheerful and fun character, much like fellow Italian (the wonderful) Valentino Rossi - who has called Sic his 'younger brother'.

In Ipswich terms you could liken this weekend's events to if Connor Wickham were to be fatally injured this season, having only just moved to the Premier League. Or Wayne Rooney suffering that unimaginable fate just after moving to Man Utd.

They would have had so much more talent to show us. Just as Marco undoubtedly did. 'Touch wood' no such thing will ever happen to any young star again, whatever their sport.

These men and women give up everything for their sport. Their lives are entirely devoted to it: through diet, training, travelling away from home and away from family, essentially their life is no longer their own.

I totally understand that racing drivers in particular choose this life and they are fully aware of the risks they take when lining up on the grid. But, for that alone, I believe they deserve our upmost respect.

They give their lives for our entertainment, and this weekend that statement became so horrifically literal in the case of the beautiful Simoncelli.

And this is why when I hear 'fans' moaning about Jewell, publicly berating JET and constantly sending out put downs to Grant Leadbitter or Carlos Edwards I am totally disgusted. What right have they?

It's not just at Town: across the English football league this weekend there's been outcry from 'fans' who seem to think they could do a footballer's job so much better; Manchester United and Chelsea to name but a few. What a shame.

I will miss Marco so much, MotoGP has lost a member of it's family and it is so sad. But he raced for the love of his sport, just as we go to Portman Road for the love of ours. What enjoyment can we get out of complaining all the time? Is it not more fun to get behind the boys and cheer them on?

Can we not do as Marco did and smile hugely through it all, have fun and enjoy it.

From now on I will try to enjoy every moment of the two sports I love. And every day I will do so remembering the wonderful person that we have lost and pray that it does not happen to any more of my idols.

RIP Marco Simoncelli. 58 forever.

Keeping the faith as Town narrowly beat Pompey and move into the Play-Off places

2011-10-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

'It's playing poorly and still managing to win that's a sign of a good team'

If I had a pound for every time I've heard that in the last 36 hours I'd have enough money to make Keith Andrews' move to Portman Road a permanent one.

The scoreline suggests that the midfielder's 80th minute strike was the only difference between the two sides, but that wasn't the case. Portsmouth bossed the lack lustre Ipswich side around and will have been sorely disappointed to be heading back to the south coast with no points.

For the first time since our new look Ipswich side has started storming up the Championship, they have come up against a team who figured out how to stop them playing.

For me, the fact that Edwards and Cresswell were unusually quiet was a telling sign - they were closely marked and not given their usual space, which slowed the game down massively. But credit where it's due, the two worked extremely hard to overcome this challenge, particularly Edwards who's been named as Man of the Match by the Evening Star's Dave Gooderham.

Meanwhile, when we did show signs of good attacking football Portsmouth locked down their defence and the penalty area appeared to be surrounded by more people than the entrance to Dale Farm. We just couldn't get through.

It's to be expected of a team like Portsmouth; who are not just a formerly Premiership side, they're a side who were formerly well established in the Premier League. Their experience showed on Tuesday night, but what's most impressive is that we actually managed to overcome that.

For me getting through a tough performance like that, without falling apart at the seams was almost as important for Town as the recent wins we've experienced. The boys battled through, managed to scrape a one goal lead and held on to it, even under huge amounts of pressure.

Yes it was very nervy at times, but isn't it the nailbiting final ten minutes that attract you to the game?!

What's also interesting to note is that when Jimmy Bullard has a bad game, so do Ipswich Town. The curly haired one was, unusually, giving away balls constantly. He never quite got up to full pace and the gap he left at the back of the midfield was plain to see. But rather than criticising him for that, I raise the point to highlight the impact he has had on our side. I don't think you can fault his desire to win - it was just one of those bad days for him. As I say, fascinatingly the performance of the whole team could be summed up in the same way - clearly he is our biggest influence still.

While I'd like to think that Jimmy was distracted by my long awaited appearance at the ground, it has been pointed out to me that he took a knock in the early stages of the game and that may well have had an effect on him. In his post-match interview, Paul Jewell admitted that some of his players are not fully fit at the moment and that may go some way to explaining the below par performance. He mentioned that Scotland hasn't trained much, which is unusual for the striker in recent months, and so one wonders how many other members of the team are carrying injuries but attempting to play through? For that reason I think PJ should be applauded for his clever substitutions - Ellington and JET went someway to bringing the desire to win and energy needed to do so back on to the pitch. For me they didn't quite match up to Chops and Jase, but that's a discussion for another day.

For today, we can take ourselves smugly into Saturday knowing that we need worry a little less against Palace. For now that we have a less exciting performance under our belt we have also ticked the last worrying box - how will we do against a team that know how to play us? This time last year we'd have lost that game by three or four goals, or dare I even say six? But now we've shown we've also got it in us to dig deep and cling on to a result, even if maybe we don't quite deserve it.

In my books, by doing that we deserve it even more.

Man of the Match has been a discussion of real debate on Twitter since Tuesday night, with everyone seeming to opt for a different player. After much deliberation I have opted for Stockdale - once again his saves came at crucial points for Ipswich Town, with the stop in the dying minutes of injury time bringing the whole of Portman Road to its feet in applause of grattitude. Once again, his performance has prevented us suffering from what was happening elsewhere on the pitch. For the first time this season he did look a little 'wobbly' at points and I don't wish to ignore that completely, but I think that's down to the quality of the opposition and I'm impressed he kept a cool head to go with that well deserved clean sheet.

At the other end of the pitch the build up for the return of David Norris fizzled out without even becoming relevant. Our former skipper was quiet to say the least, and though he did have a couple of good chances on goal, the performance we'd feared he would put in to undo us never materialised. Nice to see him settled in his new side, but - as I told the Evening Star - I don't think we miss him any more.

Bekah's funny moment didn't take place during the game itself, mainly because I was too on edge worrying that we were going to concede! However, I did enjoy the half time game - Ipswich fans taking penalties on the half way line and the shot that went at the highest speed won the prize. I've stated my disappointment before that the club did not make enough effort with entertainment at the interval, and explained that I believe it could make a real difference to the atmosphere at Portman Road. Admittedly, it didn't necessarily raise the noise in the ground, but it was a bit of light relief for the Blues faithful on such a bitterly cold night... particularly when one contestant skied his effort and it nearly landed in the Sir Bobby Robson Upper.

The highlight of the day as a whole was, to be honest, just being there. It's no accident that my first trip to Portman Road this season was for an evening match - I love them. Some of my happiest memories are from the quarter to eight kick offs and I always feel that there's a happier atmosphere within the crowd at the late games - no matter how low the temperature gets! As Matt Holland said to me during the day: 'there's definitely something magical about those games'.

So onward and upwards for our boys - and, happily, there's getting to be less and less room for us to move 'upwards' nowadays.

I'm very much enjoying being 6th in the league, a position that is thoroughly deserved from the hard fought games and excellent performances we have put in in recent weeks.

You just wonder how it could possibly go wrong from here and I'm sure there'll be a few wobbles along the way. But thanks to the gritty result on Tuesday, we now know we can overcome those obstacles and it'll all be ok in the end.

In Jewell We (Still) Trust!!

Portman Road avoids Managerial Sacking Season, thankfully

2011-10-12T00:57:00.000-07:00

Just 10 games into the season the cull of managerial staff across the Championship has already begun.

But, is it too early?

Steve McClaren's resignation has come as no shock bearing in mind the state Nottingham Forest find themselves in at the moment. But ask a Forest fan how they feel about his exit and they will likely tell you the same thing my Forest fan friend @ibrahimmustapha: 'His heart's not been it for weeks so it was the right thing for him to go, but the problem runs much deeper than just needing a new manager'.

So why does it seem like the former England boss (along with the Chairman) are taking the fall for this? Have the media been too quick to get on his back? Sadly, a story of failure well always sell papers better than one of success.

Meanwhile, is it right that the fans have been up in arms and calling for McClaren's head? Similarly, at Doncaster and Bristol some have been asking for the boss to be sacked for a while: Do they really have the right to make that call? And why on earth are the clubs taking any notice?

The influence of fans and local media over these big decisions has also been discussed in this excellent article from website 'The Sacking Race'.

The current favourite to replace McClaren is a certain former Blues boss. The furore surrounding these latest managerial changes is reminiscient of a not-so-distant time at Portman Road, when one might have thought Satan himself had taken residence in Suffolk in the form of Roy Keane.

It took me until the last few weeks of his reign to decide there was clearly something going wrong, but many of the Town faithful had decided Keane was causing problems long before. There were chants and protests for his head months before he left, not only were the Blues underachieving, the unrest among the players was causing them to self destruct.

But, once again, the local media (who now contain almost completely new staff, by the way, and an altogether more balanced and positive attitude towards the boys) were enjoying the circus. I believe the board wanted a high profile name to lift Ipswich Town's own profile to the forefront of the footballing world's attention. They got what they wanted but not in the way they wanted. The media tore Keane apart at every turn because, like I say, a story of failure sells papers.

So, I ask again what right do the media or the fans have to make the call over a manager's future? And when will clubs stop paying any attention?

Don't get me wrong, I do understand that we put a lot of time money and effort into our football clubs and, as such, seeing them go through troubling times physically hurts. But who are we to tell the board how to do their job? I put a lot of time and money into MacDonald's every month - but I don't try telling Ronald how to light those golden arches.

Fast forward nine months and it's a different story entirely at Portman Road.

Now, Jewell is our king. But for a while it looked like he might end up being the joker. Following the unmentionable defeat at London Road some fans (though I do believe it was a minority) were calling for the scouser to be sacked.

What one earth is he thinking? Damien Delaney's a waste of space, Lee Martin's taking the mick, Josh Carson should be playing, Paul Jewell has no idea. They all knew better than him.

But, a Danny Collins and a Jimmy Bullard later, we appear to be all sorted and the doubts of the big man are all but forgotten.

Aren't we glad Simon Clegg paid no attention to calls to getting rid of PJ now?

As such, Ipswich Town are setting an example to the Championship: have a little faith and allow time for the team to grow. 46 games is a long season.

One tweet I received last night (from someone I had long thought lost to the cause of positivity at ITFC) summed up, rather eloquently, the rocky start to our season: 'PJ knew what he wanted and I think now we are seeing what he wanted with the team from day one'.

Absolutely right, aren't you all glad we kept him? I just hope Doncaster, Forest and Bristol aren't wishing they'd said the same by the end of the season.

Thank you Marcus Evans and Simon Clegg for putting your faith in Jewell and backing him through the rough start. It's all up from here!

In Jewell We Trust

Ipswich Town FC; the finest football team the Championship has ever seen?

2011-10-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

In my state of drunk-with-happiness-following-our-amazing-3:1-win-over-Brighton I made a very bold statement to the researchers at BBC 5 Live's 606:

'Ipswich Town are now the best team in the League'

Clearly I was a little overexcited. But, you know, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced I'm right.

Sam Allardyce was the third manager this season to make the following statement: 'Ipswich Town are the best team we've played so far'.

Ten points from 12 sounds great and it's certainly a statistic even the most faithful of Town fans were expecting. But what's even more impressive is how that compares to the top teams in the league: of the top 6 clubs, none have earned as points as us from the last 4 games.

Position Club Points Form
1st Southampton 6 Beat Watford and Birmingham
2nd Middlesbrough 6 Beat Palace Away and drew other three.
3rd Derby County 7 Beat Forest and Millwall
4th West Ham 5 Beat Peterborough and drew two.
5th Brighton 1 Just one draw after very good start.
6th Hull City 8 Didn’t lose in September.

Consistency is key, and it seems that not only have we found our pace - but it's good enough to rival the teams at the top of our league. Early on in the season I voiced my rejection of fears online that the top teams were running away already and we'd never catch them. Thanks to this great run, I have been proven right.

What's interesting when you look at these statistics is the games these top teams are winning - they're defeating clubs like Forest, Watford and Peterborough. Without wanting to appear disrespectful, these are not difficult games and seem even less impressive when compared with our run of a draw and two wins against Middlesbrough, West Ham and Brighton.

The one team who do make a good impression on me are Middlesbrough, they haven't yet lost this season. That's a fantastic situation to be in and it's that kind of consistency that will win out at the end of the year. However, there is something to be said for the fight that needs to appear within a team following a bad run of results: Something Town have shown in abundance.

And that is another reason I believe we are the best team in the league. When we lost to Peterborough I was loud and clear about my disappointment that the players had given up so easily and that they weren't even getting on with each other. That just isn't a problem anymore.

On Saturday we were gutted to lose the chance to make it four clean sheets in a row - but the character the boys showed to make a come back from that disappointment was excellent. What's more the celebrations following the goals showed they are happy together now. It's something that's impressed other Town fans too, I asked what the highlight of the game was:

@Beazerblue Chopra giving Jewell a hug after one of his goals. Shows good spirit.

@S_BaileyITFC Chops ran straight to Jewell after his second goal and bear hugged him!

@Seanie_S I agree, that was my highlight too!

@83missy Somehow that hug ended up as a mass bundle. Team spirit!

@dc96 Sonko/JB chest bump after 2nd goal.

(Something I've still not seen so if anyone's got a video link please send it to me!)

@clarky_7for19 For me it was something special seeing Sonko tower above everyone for his goal.

@Felstedboy Jimmy going to greet a fan in the disabled section during the warm up. You could see it made his day, tear to eye and lump in throat moment.

Which brings me to the next point I would like to make: the signings we've made this summer are also making us the best team in the league. The return of Craig Mackail-Smith to Portman Road this weekend reminded some that there had been small amounts of rumours that Ipswich were interested in buying him. Some Twitter voices even commented that they thought it was Jewell's biggest mistake not signing him. But, I'm hoping the result on Saturday proved them wrong.

Chopra, Jimmy, Bowyer, Andrews, Sonko, Collins, Cresswell and Stockdale. It may have taken a few games for them to gel, but can you imagine an Ipswich team without them now?!

We now have the best midfield since the days of Mattie Holland, experience and determination with a great ability to read the game (thanks to the now irrepressible Grant Leadbitter).

Our defence looks more solid than it has since Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus ruled the back line. Sonko and Collins finally provide fans with a bit of reliability, while Stocko is a great acquisition both in and out of Portman Road following ANOTHER call up to the England squad.

Whilst the Chopland partnership continues to work it's magic, with 7 goals in four games and Chops finally reopening his account for the Blues we can look forward to a better goal difference this year, I feel.

Meanwhile, I do not doubt for a single second that Chops will reach his 20 goal target this season, and the outpouring of Twitter love for the hit man when he scored his first on Saturday shows the Blue Army are believing that too!

I will reiterate what I have said many times before: we will not win every game, even if we make the play-offs we still may not go up (an experience we're all far too familiar with) and there will still be days where things don't go to plan.

But the important thing is keeping the faith. According to Paul Jewell, the support the fans showed when we went 1:0 down on Saturday lifted the players.

And there you have the final reason Ipswich Town are the best in the league - we have the greatest fans. We are the twelfth man this year, and we will be the difference between making it into the top six and sticking around the midtable.

In Jewell We Trust.

For anyone who's interested in hearing me spread the Ipswich Town positivity message here's the link, I'm at 1 hr 29 minutes on the 6 second challenge!

Always look on the #twitfc side of life!

2011-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

A win from Town today would see the Blues getting three great results from what we thought would be the three hardest games of the season: Middlesbrough, West Ham and Brighton.

What a wonderful time it is to be a Town fan!

I was speaking to @FelsedBoy this morning and he quite delightfully described today as 'feeling like the first of the season, with the glorious weather and the feeling of hope in Ipswich'.

Sadly, in monmths gone by, the Town faithful have not been feeling so optimistic- and really, who can blame them. The pinnacle of the gloom arriving just after Peterborough United, of course.

But amidst all that was a collection of fans (at games and on Twitter) who became tired of the negativity surrounding their club.

A few of them started up a new hashtag on Twitter - #twitfc- and pledged that this would only be used for positive thinking. Since then it has been used for the Blue Army to voice their support and love for their club.

When some people were calling for Paul Jewell to be sacked, the #twitfc army shouted that they had their faith that he would turn it around.

When some players were publicly ridiculed online, the #twitfc army rushed to their defence and sang out for them.

And when Lee Bowyer scored on Tuesday night at Upton. Park, the timeline exploded with cheers and happiness. I've never known such an out pouring of emnotion from a group of men!

To me, it cannot be a coincidence that the change in attitude, among the players as well as the fans, has been followed by a change in fortunes on the pitch.

Despite there being a low attendance for the Coventry at home game, the mood by then had most definitely been lifted and, for the first time, this was evident on the pitch. Jimmy Bullard's infamous game of rock, paper, scissors was a symbol of the solidarity now being experienced amongst the players.

We had a very rough start to the season, as Paul Jewell told the EADT 'We've had some real body blows in the season so far, but at the moment we have bounced back and are playing with confidence'.

With the addition of on-loan right back Reese Wabara it appears that Town may have found the final piece of the jigsaw, although I hear this morning that the team against Brighton is likely to be unchanged so he may not find his way to the starting line up yet.

We will not win every game left to play, and we may not even gain promotion this year - but we will get there in the next few years and we will NEVER give up.

As I've said so many times before, the ups and downs of this year will form a part of the Ipswich Town story - and I hope the part we play will be for being the finest football fans the club has ever seen.

Keep the faith, in Jewell we trust.

Two points against Middlesbrough and West Ham would be more than we expected

2011-09-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

Four words you hate to wake up to in the morning: Narwich 2, Sunderland 1.

Listening to the last 15 minutes of the game last night my heart was in my mouth. Though it was a shame not to hear Connor Wickham net a last minute equaliser against the Budgies - I found it really exciting.

Fair play to the Nodge, they're making a reasonable impression in the top flite - I feel they'll do a Blackpool this year: not embarass themselves too much, but not stay up either.

Something else that struck me while I was listening to the game was that had the team we have now played them in April - the scoreline would not have been the same. I think we'd actually have given them a match.

If the Blues that played on Saturday had gone 3:0 down to the scum, I think they'd have had the passion, character and organisation to make a comeback. Nowadays, Jimmy, Bowyer and Andrews would refuse to lie down and take the embarrassment;Sonko and Collins would have far more control of fat boy Holt; and the forwards (AKA Chopland, thanks to @gavinbarber) would've at least rattled the woodwork up our end of the pitch...!

On that point I move to our current games, which, at the start of the season, were earmarked as our most difficult run of matches.

The opening games of Bristol, Southampton and Peterborough were considered by some to be a reasonably relaxing warm up to get us on our way. Well, you could argue that they did serve to be a 'warm up' to help us get organised. Though I'd have preferred a lower goal difference at the end of them...

While in the next month Middlesbrough, West ham and Brighton were expected to show us what a tough league we are in. Who knew that when the time came there'd be a feeling of more chance for success in the latter three games?!

The result last Monday and following performance on Saturday has, finally, renewed the faith of the loyal Blues supporters. After the Coventry game it was easy to consider that we were not playing the best of teams and the bigger test was yet to game... but against Middlesbrough I think we finally started to prove ourselves.

And who'd have thought that such a #twitfc positive response would come from a nil nil draw?!

I think it was summed up best online by my Town Tweep buddy @samstannard: 'The green shoots of progress are finally starting to show through'.

So, to Upton Park go over 1500 Ipswich Town fans, all hopeful that their boys in blue will get a point or three out of tonight's trip to London.

May I be so bold as to suggest that they will be happy with a point? Just as Saturday seemed to be us demonstrating how much we have improved; tonight will see us holding our own against another 'Premier League' side. So to take two points from these two difficult away games would make me a happy Tractorgirl... that's not to say I can't see Chops sneaking a late winner though!

Something to think about on your way down to the capital; with news filtering through this morning that Carlos Edwards has been arrested (again) for driving without a licence - how much could this have an affect on our new found confidence? For me, he's the one player we cannot replace. If he were to be sent to jail for this latest offence - who would you play instead? Is there anyone?

For me you could swap and change the central defence and even the midfield four, if injury forced you. Meanwhile there are plenty of options up front if Chops or the in-form Jase Scotland were unavailable for some reason. But Edwards and Cresswell are less easy to replace.

To a certain extent Carlos has been forced to play the right back position due to a lack of other options and Jewell has done well to turn that situation round to our advantage, by using it to make our midfield stronger. But what would we do without Edwards?

Hopefully, we'll not need to worry about it, the club have said that there were 'extenuating circumstances' for his actions. But is this not the kind of unreliable player we could do without at Portman Road? Can we forgive him this disgression? Certainly food for thought.

Either way, expect many rounds of 'Oh Carlos Edwards, he's taking the bus' tonight' and if we come home with a point I'll be smug that I got it right!

I expect and hope for a 1:1 draw and the Blues fans continuing to keep the faith...

Ipswich Town see off Sky Blues and 'Sky Curse'

2011-09-19T23:38:00.001-07:00

Over the years, the Tractor Boys have become notorious for getting stage fright when the Sky cameras come to visit.

And with the two most recent televised games ending in heavy defeats - last night was the night to emulate Cardiff Away rather than Narwich at Home.

I just had this feeling in my bones that yesterday would be the day the pieces of the jigsaw came together for Town, and I was right.

In the build up to the game the Town faithful expressed concern at Paul Jewell's choice for the starting line up - but it turned out to be inspired. Did you ever doubt it?

Groans about the lack of width were responded to on the pitch by an excellent midfield performance, the like of which I can't remember seeing at Portman Road for months... perhaps even years.

I have commented many times that the midfield has, at times, appeared non existent for the Boys in Blue, but last night they were controlling and organised. The players, who've been accused of being 'too old' by some fans, finally demonstrated that wealth of experience they have between them: most notably Lee Bowyer who looked confident rather than frustrated for the first time since joining us.

@dave_goods of the EADT and Evening Star argued on Twitter that it was Grant Leadbitter's best game in a Town shirt and I'm inclined to agree. He was all over the park, constantly finding space to move for the ball and playing a huge part in the flowing passing game that was on display. @djonesax rightly pointed out to me that he gave the ball away several times: but when you consider the amount of possesion he earned I think you have to allow him the odd slip. For today at least.

Andrews was, once again, superbly determinatined and his contribution to the gamewas immeasurable. Thanks largely to our strong midfield, he was able to leave the defending to others and concentrate on pushing the ball forward for our own attack (And that is why I feel PJ's formation was a stroke of genius). His goal was an excellent 1-2 with Chopra, stuff made of Premiership quality, and demonstrated the great playing relationship those two are developing.

His constant supply of passes finally provided the support both Chops and Scotland needed - and boy did it make the difference. Micheal Chopra will be playing those misses over and over in his head. But, I don't think he needs to worry too much- I was just pleased to see him actually having those chances at last. As @dave_harrison said to me - 'once he gets one the goals start be flying in from him'. So keep at it Chops, I'm still backing you to reach twenty this year.

Meanwhile, the star of the show up front was most definitely Jason Scotland, PJ has said so too. I was so pleased to see him given a place in the starting line up, I thought he worked really hard at Blackpool. There are still some fans who aren't keen on him, but for me he's a quality goal scorer who's been proven at this level - exactly what we asked Paul Jewell for at the start of his ITFC reign. Jason proved me right and the Twitter doubters wrong thanks to a beautiful third goal that buried the game for Town.

At the other end of the pitch kudos must be given to the first half defence who looked solid - albeit with very little to do. PJ opted to make no changes to the back line, giving the new players (very new in Collins' case) a chance to play together and learn about each other.

Sadly, Ibrahima Sonko (who would be set to be my Player of the Season if it weren't for Jimmy Bullard) suffered an injury in the second half, shaking that solid defence slightly. It's true that with him being replaced by Damien 'looks like he'd rob your Nan' Delaney, the back line didn't look so sure. But, personally, I'm not too worried - my argument being that Coventry were 2 nil down and, cleverly, took advantage of Town momentarily taking their foot off the gas following Sonko's substitution.

So Man of the Match ought to be Aaron Cresswell who Sky seem to think will be singlehandedly winning the next World Cup for England, going on their commentary. His goal line clearances saved us and were karma for Chopras misses earlier on. That lad is, undoubtedly, one to watch this year.

But, in the interest of giving you something to think about, I'd go for Grant Leadbitter. He's had a really tough time this season, particularly from Town fans, but I have always said I quite like his way of playing. It pulled off last night and was even more impressive given the number of times he's been kicked whilst he's down. More from him to come, I hope.

The best of the rest would be our energetic front line Chops and Jase. Finally starting to show us what they're made of and, again, I get the feeling there's much more to come.

Bekah's funny moment most definitely goes to Jimmy and Andrews for the now infamous 'paper, scissors, stone' incident. Shouldn't everything in life be decided in that way?!

On a serious note I also felt the way the two interated during and after the match was indicative of the relatioship the players have with each other. The whole team are starting to look like they enjoy playing together, like one big happy family. a family with an amazing array of accents, by the way- the post match interview was amusingly hard to follow thanks to the scouse/irish/cockney twangs!

Favourite quote: SKY REPORTER 'have you all been practising the free kicks in training then Jimmy?' JIMMY 'Well I have, them two obviously haven't', love him!

Highlight of the day is the Twitfc hashtag and my Twitter timeline finally being full of so much positivity. Keep it up: we are the twelfth man and we will make the difference this season.

For what it's worth, I will balance this article with a comment that there is still some way to go for the Boys in Blue. Just as I said after Bristol, one game does not a season make.

The defence was wobbly without Sonko and you can't rely on one player not getting injured - I refer to the loss of Ingimarsson to illustrate my point. The midfield looked tired at the end: I leave it to you to decide if that's age or lack of fitness (for me it's the latter as I mentioned after Blackpool).

And poor old Chops couldn't hit a barn door... But that will improve.

So the clear message this week is 'keep up the good work boys'.

And keep the faith Blue Army!

Blackpool Away: good things come to those who wait

2011-09-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

I was privileged enough to be featured in the Evening Star this weekend, as their 'Star Fan' for the game at Blackpool.

Could've picked a better weekend...!

The difficulty being any comment I could think to make felt like I was repeating myself from all but one of the games we've already played.

Our defence is clearly not strong enough, again... but they will get better.

Our midfield was sloppy, again... but they will get better.

Our players lacked confidence again, (particularly when they went two nil down)... but they will get better.

It's hard work keeping the faith when you're seeing the same old problems arise time and time again. But we're Ipswich fans - not giving up is what we do best.

In some parallel universe football matches may only be 45 minutes long. And the Blue Army living in that world will be over the moon at the moment.

Because in the first half we looked impressive, we moved the ball well, looked fairly solid when Blackpool were pushing forward and seemed to be trying to get on the attack ourselves as often as possible.

It didn't look like either team were going to score, to be honest and nil nil at the break was a fair result.

But it did look like this team were beginning to gel together. Some of the passing football we witnessed was back to the well renowned style of play Ipswich Town take credit for. With new signing Danny Collins also making several key clearances it looked, for a while, that we have finally got together the team we've been hoping for.

We matched Blackpool well and, bearing in mind this is a team recently relegated from the Premier League who by no means disgraced themselves whilst playing in the top flite, that is impressive. If it weren't for the traumatic start to our season - we would have been happy with a nil nil draw going in to the game.

But as the whistle blew for half time the heavens opened, and with it the tides of fortune changed for our boys.

As players from both sides began slipping and sliding their way across the pitch you really sensed a change in the game - this was not going to make life easy and with us already being wobbly under pressure this spelt bad news.

When the first goal went in, I wasn't too disappointed. It was a scramble in the wet and although there are clearly lessons to be learnt, I think conditions were difficult for the players at that point. Had the ball been up the other end of the pitch, who knows, we might have been able to scramble it over the line.

Another point is that Taylor-Fletcher was by far the best player on the pitch and him finding the back of the net was inevitable at some point.

However, what felt much less than ten minutes later, Blackpool netted another and essentially killed the game off in the process. We never looked like scoring when we were one goal down, to score two was definitely beyond us on that particular day.

I was disappointed with that second goal, I'd have liked to have seen the boys pull themselves together after the first and take control of the game. It was sad to see them so dejected and from that point on they really looked like they were just waiting for the game to be over.

Not that they didn't care enough to pull themselves out of it, I truly believe they do. My sister and I happened to walk past the team bus just as the players had begun to filter out of the changing room, so we stopped to get some pictures. The players really looked glum. Ever the professionals, they signed autographs and posed for pictures; but each one of them looked like they were carrying the weight of disappointment of the 1700 football fans back to Suffolk. So I don't doubt that they wanted to give us all better, especially after such a long journey up.

For me, there was three things wrong.

The man marking when we were defending was diabolical. That's a school boy error; the thing you learn first in football training so should never forget. They chopped and changed the men they were marking without talking to each other; subsequently leaving Blackpool players free to shoot. It was scary.

But, if you ask me, this is something that will improve with time and more games together. Danny Collins arrived in Ipswich on Friday and was thrown straight in at the deep end, to a team who conceded 12 goals in two games and were still suffering from the nervousness that created. It can't have been easy, and it could have been worse.

What I would say though is this: going into the game who is the one player you were most worried about? Kevin Phillips, by any chance? And did you notice him at all on Saturday? Well, I didn't and it has only in recent hours dawned on me that that might explain why the defence appeared so gappy. Was too much effort concentrated on stopping the notorious hitman? Would you have done any different?!

Carlos Edwards is sorely missed on the right wing, he is not a right back. There's not really much else that can be said here, and conversely I'd also like to say that Leadbitter does not belong on the wing. Both players tried to make the best out of a bad situation, and I think they deserve some credit for giving it a go. Meanwhile Paul Jewell has admitted he is still trying to find the right 'formula' for his new-look side. This will improve.

Finally, fitness - yet another thing that can only improve with time. There were several players who did not look 100 per cent fit - Jimmy Bullard being the most obvious. You know something's not right when Jimmy Bullard is giving away the ball and not making runs when he should be. But the only way to get match fit is to play games.

So, this week I am happy to jump down from the fence and join the supporters calling for other members of the Blue Army to have more patience.

The vast majority of the travelling Town fans deserve praise for the character they showed on Saturday: It was a long way to come for a disappointing result like that but that's part and parcel of being a member of the Blue Army. And I got the distinct impression these weary Blues fans are not giving up hope yet - in fact there's still an air of excitement of what is to come this season. Don't let go of that - I am so proud of the Town fans for their behaviour at the ground, and around Blackpool afterwards (@Samstannard explained they were 'pretending we won 4-2' and therefore celebrating)- we truly do have the greatest fans in the world!

Dave Gooderham asked me who I would put as Man of the Match and I told him I'd been trying to decide that for nearly 24 hours. For me, it was Aaron Cresswell, he was excellent on the left hand side, lots of really good football came from him and he was constantly moving into space and getting himself in the right position. Sadly, he was often ignored or forgotten altogether. Specifically though, he was the one player that shone in the second half, and I think he deserves credit for keeping the faith.

Also making his mark was debutant Danny Collins, who had an air of Gareth McAuley about him in both his physique and calmness under pressure. All we need next is for him to organise the team in front of him and build on what already looked a decent partnership with Sonko in the first half, the HUGE defender has also said this himself. Reports today that his loan move could become permanent are pleasing and will be a good result for Town if they turn out to be true.

At the other end of the pitch Taylor Fletcher was excellent... unfortunately. He gave Chops a lesson in actually making use of the ball when it was in his possession. But it is worth noting that, throughout the first half, shots on goal for them were as rare as they were for us. Perhaps testament to both teams solid defences up to the half way mark.

'Bekah's funny moment' is the greatest example I can give of the strength that Town fans showed on Saturday. As the game neared it's close and the Blue Army resigned itself to another away defeat a chant started up that will forever be one of my favourites. A seagull made it's way above the pitch, swooping and diving - to which the blue end of the ground began singing, 'oooohhhh, seagull, seagull, seagull'. It's testament to what it means to be a True Blue this season, even when times are hardm you have to make the best of a bad situation. We are there to have a good time: so why the hell not have a bit of fun? Brilliant!

The highlight of the day was actually the highlight of the weekend: meeting some fellow Town Tweeps in person. I cannot describe the proud I felt hearing a chorus of Blue Army ring out above the noise in a Blackpool nightclub on Saturday night. For me, it was great to spend the evening with people who share the same big passion that I do, Ipswich Town.

As I told the Evening Star, I truly believe this IS the start of something big for us. Rome wasn't built in a day, even Bobbby Robson didn't fix Ipswich in his first season. These ups and downs are all part of the Ipswich Town story and there WILL be a happy ending. It may not be this year (or even next year), but it will come and I am proud to be a part of that history. Aren't you?

Where do Town go from here?

2011-08-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Ipswich Town team seemed to take a while to come out of the dressing room on Saturday evening: what do you think Paul Jewell was saying?

If you were him, what on earth would you have said?

Having not made it to Portman Road yet, this weekend was the first chance I've had to see the rapidly self-destructing side for myself. It's a totally different team from what I witnessed in Bristol, and for 48 hours I have been lost for words.

At first, it all looked hopeful. The players enjoyed a fun warm up: Arran Lee Barrett put some lovely shots past David Stockdale (which he's not really supposed to do!), Micheal Chopra squirted Josh Carson with his water bottle when he wasn't looking, while Mark Kennedy placed his hand on Aaron Cresswell's shoulder - clearly offering him advice and confidence.

This calm side then moved on to the pitch and for the first fifteen minutes we were doing things the Ipswich way: easing in to the game, gaining control and taking shots whenever we could.

Then Andrews scored... and it was down hill from that point on.

It's so upsetting to see the side that filled us with so much hope just a fortnight ago descending into absolute chaos. Every time Peterborough got the ball they scored, and there was seemingly nothing our shaken defence or non-existent midfield could do about it.

The worst thing to watch, though, was the way the players turned on each other, and at some points even the supporters. Chants from frustrated Blues fans of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' were greeted with unpublishable swear words from Damien Delaney (who I suspect was actually more frustrated with himself than us). I will never condone booing at a match, not even at 7-1 down, but I did approve of this particular chant, this particular weekend - it's a sentiment that's repeatedly being expressed by PJ too.

So I ask again: if you were him, what would you say? How would you set about turning this team around

The obvious answer is to demand Marcus Evans gets his American Express out, but I am a firm believer that throwing money at a problem will not solve it.

We have plenty of perfectly good players in that side, what they need is improved training, better team spirit and a miracle confidence boost.

Two excellent blogs on TWTD have covered this topic very well: 'Is this club rotten from top to bottom?' (which, by the way, it is not), and 'Why the club is not in crisis from top to bottom'.

The former suggests, if a little dramatically, that the club overall is lacking a management strategy - i.e. a structured plan to decide where it is going and how it plans to get there. And the latter highlights the danger of focusing too much on buying in new players and not enough on the team we already have.

The side we have could be good enough - they just need working on. So PJ, I'm asking you: please don't forget that aspect of your job. Because whilst you are insisting on looking for new players the confidence level of our current players is getting lower and lower. They clearly feel they cannot do the job expected of them. In fact I wonder if some might actually be hoping you will buy someone to replace them - to get them out of this hole the easy way.

The sad reality is, there may well be no miracle signing waiting for PJ to snap them up. There may well be no transfer Superman to swoop in to Portman Road and save the day. The buck stops at the players currently taking up residence there, they have to realise they're the miracle we're looking for.

There is no Matty Holland any more, no Marcus Stewart or Finidi George. No Matteo Sereni, or Tony Mowbray, or Johnny Wark. And the chants regarding these Ipswich legends should not be taken as a dig at the poor quality of the current side, but as a direction that the players should be aiming for, the former glory years they should be aspiring to reach.

You know what I would like to see? Some of these former stars coming out and voicing their support for the Blues. Jamie Scowcroft's done so already, simultaneously backing the Blues and speaking the thoughts of many an Ipswich fan on Twitter:

'After yesterday's debacle still fancy Ipswich to do well this season'

Comments like this serve to distract and defuse the negative attention being placed on the club, whilst also giving the fans a boost and some form of reward for sticking with their team. Thanks Jamie!

Incidentally, one Ipswich affiliate I do not want to see go public is Marcus Evans. The entire media world have been waiting for that moment and if he were to make an appearance the attention on the club would be monumental. With the team already failing to live up to becoming the Championship's 'underdogs', I fear they would crumble beyond repair under the pressure that would bring.

When it comes down to it though it really doesn't matter what I say, nor what the former players say, nor Marcus Evans, or even Paul Jewell. When it comes down to it, all that really matters is what the players say and do next.

It's their turn to start giving us answers.

On the pitch.

I'm pleased to see my thoughts echoed by Mark Kennedy today. The defender, who surely ought to be captain next weekend, has been urging players to take a long hard look at themselves:

'We have to take repsonsibility. Any manager can only do so much. The training was good in the week and it is a disappointing situation when we players get on the pitch and don't do what we were told. It boils down to the players.'

While my Man of the Match Stockdale has also been speaking about the need for a new approach from Town players:

'Back from training. Lads are keen to improve and a new outlook. Let's go!!!'

Here, thank god, are two voices of reason from the only side of the story that really matters - the players. Only they can turn things around, so it is fascinating to see what is going through their minds at the moment. I only hope the whole squad are following in Stocko and Kennedy's determined lead.

So, with that we can try to look forward to a new week and hopefully a new chapter in the Ipswich Town history. All this frustration and pain will be worth it when (not if) the boys turn things around. Saturday sees the visit of Leeds, the team all Town fans love to hate - wouldn't it be nice to begin the story of our recovery against them???

In my previous blogs you'll find my call to action for the fans (who, by the way, ended Saturday evening in proud form - many, including me, staying until the very end to clap the players).

Consider this blog a call to action for the players: This is your time.

Promotion will not happen this season, I think the most sensible of Town fans understand that. But it will happen soon and you can be the ones to make sure of it.

The Ipswich fans are willing to give you everything they've got, follow you around the country and sing out and support you, come what may.

Now's the time for you to match that investment and show us everything you've got by putting it into this club too.

I'll leave you with another of Stocko's inspiring Tweets, try and remember it this week to erase the memory of those seven goals from your mind:

'Alot of great fans here at ITFC, so enough of feeling down! Got a game to work for on Sat and back to winning ways!'

Why we are Town's Barmy Army: Through thick and thin, and heavy home defeats

2011-08-18T03:58:00.000-07:00

So, how much stock are you taking from the statistic 'Ipswich Town have lost two out of three games'?

At the risk of stating the obvious, it's not a great start! And if you include the fact that Town have already been dumped out of the Mickey Mouse Cup, it looks even worse.

But there's still 43 games to go. So, how much should this slow start really be worrying us?

To put it into perspective I wanted to know how our start compares to the teams who were promoted last year:

QPR - Won all three of their first games.

Narwich - Lost the first game of the season, but went on to win the next two.

But, Swansea - Like us, won one, and lost two.

(Thanks to @godeangogogo and @ohwhenthehull for confirming those for me!)

I don't think any of the Town fans are expecting the boys to reach the dizzy heights of Automic Promotion this season. But, there is a glimmer of hope that PJ's new look side may make it to the Play Offs instead. And, if you want to base your hopes and predictions on statistics, then the early form of Play Off Champions Swansea should give you something to smile about.

But, in reality, can a league like the Championship really be explained by statistics. Can you really ever hope to predict the outcome of any game in a competition where any side could win any game on any given day?

The only thing that's predictable about the Championship is that it's so unpredicatble.

I paraphrase the tagline used for my 'other' favourite sport British Superbikes here, because I believe it to be the best way to explain why we love being Town fans so much.

My two favourite sports in the world, the two most fascinating and exciting competitions in the world - Championship football and British Superbikes. The fact that you just never know what lies at the final whistle or finish line is what keeps me going back, again and again.

Let me explain further: for twenty minutes on Tuesday night I was ecstatic. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, I was bouncing on the sofa, and I could not take my eyes away from Sky Sports News. I know you know which twenty minutes I'm talking about!

That feeling of almost coming back from being 3:0 down is what I will treasure most from this second week of the 2011/2012 season. I want to hold on to it so tightly because it is the reason I am a Town fan. Yes, it's a shame it didn't last longer. Yes, it's a shame it didn't devleop into the delirium of a third goal and equaliser. But it all contributed to making my Tuesday night experience even more intense.

So, although I am obviously not impressed with the start Town have made to this season, I'm not panicking just yet. There's still so long to go and so many ups and downs to experience yet.

I want to also take the chance to applaud the fans who've been showing that level of support and optimism. PJ has commented that he too was impressed with the support:

"3-0 down at half time and at home, at some places you probably wouldn't even get to the tunnel . But the supporters were terrific... I said to the players 'You see the response when we're up at them and on the front foot'."

Meanwhile, several of the #itfc regulars have pledged to only Tweet their most positive feelings about the Boys in Blue. The optimism is definetly catching.

At this stage of the season I'd like to think that this is the feeling of the majority of the Town fans and from what I can tell the mood is generally positive (with the exception of certain Supporter's Clubs statements, obviously).

If you're feeling down about the Town I urge you to jump on the #twitfc bandwagon: this season's going to be so much more fun if we enjoy backing the boys through thick and thin... together.

Starting with Peterborough where I will be experiencing watching a game from the terraces for the first time as a Town fan (though I have had the 'privilege' of doing so as a neutral at many Cambridge United games). Should be fun!

Come On You Blues!

Are Town aiming too low? Or are the fans aiming too high?

2011-08-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Being a Yorkshire Blue nowadays I rely almost entirely on the coverage provided by t'interweb and I don't mind telling you it made for dismal reading this weekend.

The trouble with not being able to make it to the games is that you have to rely on the opinions and moods of others, which - in the aftermath of Saturday's match against Hull - was rather gloomy.

Understandably, the Town Tweeps were disappointed with the result. There was some direct criticism of manager and players alike - with JET getting the worst of the hits (what a difference four days makes, eh?!).

So, as I couldn't make it to the first home game, I turned to the media for an objective report.

The first problem with this situation is that there is so little of that around, media coverage of the boys I mean. Trusty EADT Sports writer Dave Gooderham looks set to be my rock for this year's reports on Town. But other than that there are little or no places to turn.

The national newspapers lost my confidence the day they started the witchhunt against Roy Keane (which was quickly picked up by our former local journalists I would like to add) and I grow tired of their opinion that games outside the Premier League can be covered significantly in one paragraph and from one point of view.

Sky Sports News are also guilty of this, with more than a large proportion of their coverage this weekend focusing on the top flite. Constantly hearing the phrase 'the first weekend of the season' when you are already two games in (three if you count the Mickey Nouse Cup) grows tiresome and frustrating, but such is life in the world of commercial media.

But more than anything it was the BBC's The Football League Show that disapppointed me. For the second week running we have been relegated to less than a few minutes of their time, this despite the fact that we were Top of the League, still sporting fabulous new signings and playing against a fellow promotion favourite. They must do better this year or else my Sky+ series link will be quickly cancelled and I'll opt for imagining the game in my head... at least I'll see more of it.

But back to the matter in hand, for the second problem I encountered in the media this weekend is what was actually said: namely, Paul Jewell's comments about 'playing for a draw'. If you missed it in the post match press conference here's what he said to the EADT:

'We have got to get used to drawing games, it's either win or lose with us'.

And to the club website:

'I said at half time, if we can't win don't get beat'

I'm no football manager and maybe I'm just a little naive but is that really how a manager thinks? I'm gobsmacked.

Throughout the whole of the last season the frustration always came from the fact that the poor results had come from the boys just not trying hard enough. If we tried our best to win and lost then we wouldn't mind, in fact we applauded our boys for doing so.

Of course, I can see where PJ is coming from: sometimes you have to make a considered decision on how to play against a team that seems to have got your number. But surely you change the tactics a bit? Bring on some super subs, put someone else up front, find out what's going wrong and sort it (I refer here directly to comments that Chopra didn't get enough support). Don't just say, 'well lets aim for a draw' because then you get beat by a sloppy goal (See Saturday's game for perfect example of this).

I cannot see how this kind of play is going to get us anywhere and, had it been further into the season, I fear we would've looked on this result as the one that cost us the play offs.

But, as it is, we still have plenty of time to fix things, something else PJ said:

'I'm not getting carried away with the defeat, just like I didn't get carried away with the win at Bristol last week.'

Just as I would never expect anyone without an MA in Journalism and three years work experience to tell me how to write an article for the news, I would never expect to be able to tell a man with PJ's CV how to do his job.

I continue to chant the mantra 'In Jewell We Trust' as I still believe he will be the one to take us to the promised land. I just need to keep reminding myself that may not be this year.

PJ failed to turn the team around in time for the difficult first home game, and I'm reminded of comments among the Town Tweeps that it will take some time for this new side to gel. Perhaps tonight's game against Southampton will bring the big revolution we're all waiting for... after all, we have a habit of winning the games we're not expected to don't we?

As long as we don't play for the draw....

A Week of Two Halves: Ipswich Town vs Northampton Town (Carling Cup)

2011-08-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Its seems that Town's Barmy Army is once again divided.

One half are angry that Paul Jewell played a second choice team last night, effectively dumping us out of the one ray of joy we had last year - the Carling Cup.

The other are relieved, if bothered at all, that we don't have to worry about losing players to injury and exhaustion in 'The Mickey Mouse Cup'.

So which side of the fence are you sitting on?

Was PJ right to make NINE changes from the side that made such a good first impression at Ashton Gate?

In the immediate moments after the game on Tuesday night, it seemed that fans were angry. Presumably, as they were walking down the Narwich Road, the first reaction of many was to ridicule the team for being rubbish. 'Premier League, you're having a laugh', said one.

Understandably, they were angry: they'd made the effort to attend this low profile game to see their new look Ipswich side, but they weren't even graced with the prescence of Chopra or Bowyer. Others argued that PJ should have played the strongest side to help them gel for the Championship. As my new favourite Town Tweep @rockchickbrooke argued, 'It's only the second game of the season - they can't be tired yet'.

I can, of course, see their point. Nothing angered me more during the reign of Roy Keane than the swapping and changing of players in the first team. The lack of continuity on the pitch reflected directly the lack of continuity on the team sheet. Has PJ made the same mistake?

But how important is the Carling Cup to us as a Championship side? Barnsley, Coventry, Derby, Hull and Portsmouth were all knocked out in the first round too - and you wonder how many fans will be relieved about that. A club cannot survive in this league forever, every single one is aiming to prosper in the Premier League. It is not possible to go on year after year as a mediocre mid table club. So you have to make a choice sometimes. PJ has clearly chosen the league.

And think of it this way: 8,000 fans attended on Tuesday night. Not even a third full. If the game didn't mean enough for people to come out, why should PJ rate it highly enough to risk our first team players?

I'm not criticising, it would be hypocritical of me to do so seeing as I couldn't make it either. Nor am I belittling the competition itself, I loved the great run we had in the cup last year and truly belive it is a great tournament for clubs outside the top flite.

But, if you'd have said to me last year: Good cup run or top six in the league? I'd have said top six before you even got to the end of your sentence. We need Premierhip football, we are starting to look like we may even deserve it and risking our growing side in the cup is not going to get us there. What would be the point in them 'gelling' if PJ ended up having to chose between me, my nan and my goldfish to play against Hull?

So, I'm firmly on the PJ side of the fence this week and I look forward to seeing how he moves the team on this weekend.

What I would repeat though are the words of my ever wise Dad and all knowing Town Tweep @Seanie_S: 'The game showed that the fringe players are not good enough'.

'Fringe' is a word that I've not really come across at Ipswich for a while. Perhaps because we're used to having such a small squad that every player is vital to the side. But it is a valid point - if and when we get to the point of injuries and bookings we are going to need something more to fall back on.

But panic not because this is clearly what Jewell is thinking too - he's made it quite clear that his shopping trolley isn't full yet and I doubt it will be until the transfer window tills are shut down and locked up.

I continue to wait with eagerness to find out what this year brings for the Super Blues and me, I got a feeling it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

*Quck note to everyone to please stay safe over the coming days. Was so pleased to see the riots didn't make it to Suffolk, but if they are affecting you we'll all be thinking of you.

Dare to Dream: Is the Bristol result a sign of things to come?

2011-08-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

Word has it that on Football Focus this weekend Ipswich Town were tipped to be this season's 'dark horse'. I wonder if they're thinking a little differently now?

As The Football League Show's Steve Claridge said on Saturday night following a disappointingly short review of our match:

'Dark horse? I think they'll be a bright light in the Championship'

Paul Jewell's new look side did the 1,700 travelling Town fans (including myself) very proud in this first game of the season: and not just with the fantastic scoreline.

What we saw this weekend was an excellent display of football, especially when you consider what we were watching last year. No, it wasn't perfect and, yes, we have things to learn. But it wasn't a bad starting point was it?!

The main thing I noticed was how interesting the game was. Last year I got to the point where I felt I was watching the Blues out of loyalty rather than the possibility of actually enjoying it. Some of the games last year were tedious, to say the least, but I'm now starting to think that will no longer be the case.

Personally, I felt there was some good football on show. We pushed forward constantly and took our chances on goal. Whilst at the other end the defence seemed fairly well in control, especially with such a solid keeper in Stockdale.

The BBC's coverage of the game failed to show any of this, particularly the three spectacular saves from the young keeper, so if you have the chance I would definetly try to catch the review on the Ipswich Player this week.

Man of the Match should probably be Chopra: for an absolutely beautiful first goal (his 13th minute shot was the first of the 3pm kick offs, by the way). And a rather more lucky - but no less satisfying - third goal, which wrapped up the game for Town and ultimately secured the win.

Chops looks set to be a Town legend already, with every single Town fan singing his name for almost the full ninety minutes. He was active up front and looked a real threat for us every time we moved forward.

However, my Man of the Match was Mark Kennedy. I didn't see much of the defender last season, and what I did see really didn't impress me. But yesterday I thought he was solid and instrumental to a lot of Town's best moves - that stunning opening goal was a result of his well timed pass. He looked sterdy at the back and I'll be keeping my eye on him this year.

It's suprising to me that in a team starring so many exciting new players it's a player from last years terrible side that caught me eye. Perhaps it's my natural apathy for defenders (being one myself, when I do get to play), or maybe I just have an exceptional eye for talent, ahem...!

Also making his mark , in my opinion, was young defender Aaron Cresswell - he's definetly the one to watch this year. He was very quick up the left hand side and reminded me a lot of Jaime Peters - mainly due to his height, he's tiny!

Meanwhile, I shocked myself when I found I was singing 'Lee, Lee, Lee Bowyer'. It's no secret that I'm not his biggest fan, but Town fans told me he would bring leadership and knowledge to the team... and they weren't wrong!

The midfield looked like a force to be reckoned with, unlike last year where you'd have been forgiven for thinking it didn't exsist. I'm hoping him and Leadbitter will be the ones to lead us to the Play Offs - or beyond - this season... and when he does I'll definetly be eating a slice of that humble pie.

At the other end of the pitch it was nice to see John Stead get such a great reception from the Town fans. He's a popular player among the Portman Road faithful and so I was pleased to see him receive a standing ovation from our end of the ground when he was substituted.

'Bekah's funny moment' was the chant from the Blues fans: 'Is there a fire drill'. Amusingly thought up to goad the Bristol City fans following the third goal, as the ground appeared to empty in a few seconds.

But, of course, the Highlight of the Day as a Whole has got to be getting home and turning on the Teletext:

With West Ham losing yesterday, the terraces can continue to sing 'We Are Top of the League' well into next weekend's first home game against Hull. Fow now, we can bask in the glory, no doubt it will be one of the highlights of this year. I just pray it isn't the only one.

Because whilst my post-match feeling was one of pure happiness, there was an undeniable feeling of wanting to keep a lid on it for the time being.

As my Daddy said: 'It's only one game'. An opinion that is reflected by boss Paul Jewell. I was interested to read on the Green 'Un website that he wasn't unreservedly happy with the performance:

“We are keeping our feet firmly on the ground... It is the start of a very long and arduous season and we have got off to a good start.”

All we can do, as loyal supporters, is keep up the excellent support that we showed this weekend and hope this is a sign of things to come.

Less than 48 hours after the game, the footballing world has already moved on. Stockdale has been called up to play for his country and Marton Fulop has left the club - leaving us with serious worries about having enough talent between the sticks. Rumour has it Tamas Priskin will follow Fulop, which has disappointed the Town Tweeps - but one wonders how much he would have featued in a side that's pinning all it's hopes on Chopra? While there's also hopes of signing Everton defender Duffy to increase our choices at the back.

Savouring the moment didn't last too long did it?!

We cannot and will not expect 3:0 wins every time the boys walk on to the pitch, it's going to take time and effort for them to become a team worthy of promotion - let alone one that will survive in the promised land that is the Premiership. It is nice to daydream, though, that one day we will look back on this game as the start of ' The Glory years' for this generation of the Boys in Blue.

Dare we Dream?

In the meantime though - I'm more than happy to bask in the glory... shall we just see that picture one more time...?!

By the way: my top Town Tweeps this weekend have to be @Hacaman for bringing me my brand new replica shirt over from Ipswich! And fellow blogger @gavinbarber whose lad did us proud as the Ipswich mascot!

If you're not following him, do so... and of course find me on Twitter @tractorgirlamy

I'd love to hear what you thought of this weekend's game, who your Man of the Match was and how many times in the last 24 hours you've punched the air in delight as you relive those three beautiful goals!!!

Football in a library: not at Portman Road!

2011-08-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

What's the most important part of being a Town fan? What is it that sends you home with a smile on your face: win, lose, or draw? What made Leicester away so much fun despite the dismal score line?

The banter with the Town fans, that's what I believe, and it's time we send every other Championship fan home thinking the same.

Sadly, the collective Tractor Boy mood wasn't particularly upbeat last season. So I was pleased today to find a Facebook group trying to change that in the run up to the next season:

'The Tractor Boy's Goal Celebration' http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/The-Tractor-Boys-Goal-Celebration/246395952057284 have pledged to start a new trend on the terraces of Town's home and away games - and they're aiming to make it an internet hit.

TOWN SCORES, All fans leap up and celebrate, then turn 90 degrees to their left, don a flat cap or baseball cap (put it on your head in other words), grab a large imaginary tractor wheel in front of you and randomly bump up and down as if you are driving over a ploughed field singing " Lets all drive our Tractor, Lets all drive our Tractor la la la la "

The idea's getting a very mixed reception on the social media sites. But, love it or hate it, I think you have to respect the idea behind it.

There has been a lack of comraderie among the Town fans in recent years: as a result of being bogged down by the boredom of mid-table mediocrity year after year (with the occassional concern about possible relegation, of course). It's sad to see the once vibrant 'Fortress Portman Road' turned so quiet, with chants of 'football in a library' being sung by sections of it's own crowd. I've long held the belief that more can be done to change this, and I've also felt that the club themselves could be making more of an effort.

Over the years I've seen some amazing and amusing half-time entertainment - performances and games that enthrall the crowd far more than a group of teenage cheerleaders bending in different directions in time to the latest dance tracks.

The one that sticks in my mind most: QPR away, many many many years ago. Selected fans were invited onto the pitch for a penalty shoot out, but before they each took their turn in front of the spot they had to press their heads down onto a stick (which was pushed into the ground) and run round it ten times. The unsuspecting - or just plain stupid - competitors would then zig zag and stumble dizzily, making their way towards the ball, before slicing it high or just plain missing it altogether. It was the funniest thing I have seen at a football match and yet it was so, so simple.

Where are these half time games at Portman Road? In recent years we've had 'The Bootiful Game', 'The Boatiful Game' and 'Blues Cruise' - all a simple challenge of chipping the ball into the boot of a cardboard car/cruise ship to win a car/holiday. Simple idea and often somewhat amusing (remember during the 2008 Olympics when one competitor started clapping above his head in the manner of a long jumper, only to have the whole crowd happily join in?!). Yet even this regular game was missing last season.

It disappoints me that the PR team at PR (geddit?!) have not put more effort into the pre-match and half-time entertainment. They seemed to make some effort at the doomed Narwich game in April with the fantastic Samba band, but even that seemed a little half hearted. The music system was left playing as the band entered the pitch, ruining the build up to their climatic finale. Such a shame. Perhaps the club need more ideas?

I would love to get together any ideas that you have and send them to the club. That way we can do our bit towards making the 2011/12 season a success for Town. After all it's commonly considered that the noise and support of a team's fans is what makes the difference to the scoreline. Wouldn't you love to play a part in their promotion this year? Wouldn't it be nice to be known as the best fans in the league? And to rid our memories of last year's boo boys?

Because the single most important influence on the atmosphere at the games is US. Hence the reason I wholeheartedly put every effort I can into ideas like the Tractor Boy's Goal Celebration.

How nice to have Town fans saying, 'Do you know what? We love watching our boys play and we want to show that to everyone?' Will you do the same?

Before I leave I'll get the ball rolling with the idea that I had for pre-match entertainment to warm-up the crowd: Give the 'megaphone guy' a real microphone and let him do a few laps inside the stadium this year! He could be our 'Canary Fairy'.

Got a better idea? I genuinely hope to get a few together and send them off to Camilla Haycock at the Press Office.

So get in touch by commenting on this post, sending me a message or Tweeting me @tractorgirlamy . If we get enough ideas we can turn it into a full blown petition!

Let's get this party started!

How my Daddy inspired me to be a Sports Journalist

2011-07-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

My Dad has three daughters, I'm the eldest and then there's Rebekah and Madeleine. I often wonder if he was ever a little disappointed; no boys to take along with him to the football. But he needn't have worried, because all three of us have followed in his footsteps and become avid town fans.

Growing up in Stowmarket, my Dad started supporting Ipswich despite the fact that my Grandad supports Narwich - clearly he saw sense! He's been to watch Town play all over the world; especially in their European Heydays. He also has this uncanny knack of being able to predict match results, many a time have we been driving down the A14 when he's said 'I've got a bad feeling about today' or even ' yep, we'll be ok today'.

Some of the best memories I have involve the five of us (Dad, me, Bekah, Maddie and Town): Inter Milan being the one that stands out. From the moment we left home you could see that he was so proud to be going to this history-making match with his girls. The town centre was swarming in blue and white shirts, coaches and coaches of us there were. I'll never forget sitting at a table outside a cafe, 'Winter Wonderland' coming over the speakers and every single Town fan singing 'There's only one Marcus Stewart....' at the top of their voices. My Dad was beaming, he was in his element and I'm so proud to have shared that with him.

The other greatest memory is one I'm sure you all share: May 29th 2000, Wembley. Dad made sure the whole day was amazing; walking down Wembley Way in a sea of Blue and Red, emerging from the turnstiles into this amazing ground, finding our seats were only about 10 rows from the front. But the image that I will never forget was Reuser scoring that fourth goal: my Dad was so elated, he and the two men in front were hugging! Unlike me, he doesn't often get emotional at the football and I think that was a sign of what the whole day had meant to him.

The overall feeling that I got from these days, and the many other trips we've made to watch The Blues, is that these are stories that should be told. The ups and downs a fan feels supporting their team, the unknown tales about cafes in Milan and a little man with a microphone walking around the ground chanting before every game - these are what should be being published in newspapers and online. That's why I decided to be a Journalist and I've got my Dad to thank for showing me that world.

When I was 21 I got a work placement at the BBC Radio Football department, I was so excited about it and couldn't wait to tell my Dad. Whilst I was there I was involved in some great programmes, and each night on the way home I would call Dad to tell him about it. The best moment? Then Town manager Joe Royle featured as a guest on a show I was researching for and they asked me to look after him. I went to meet him and walk him to the studio. I remember, he was trying to figure out how to use his mobile phone: so funny watching him staring at it whilst walking along and nearly bumping into people - just like my Dad does after every game!

My colleagues there teased me that the reason I got that placement was that I'm an Ipswich fan. For some reason alot of staff there support Town, and those that don't have a huge respect for what they did in the eighties. So I guess I have my Dad to thank for that!

Then a few years ago I bought my Dad what I think was the best birthday present ever! I bought him a stadium tour of Portman Road. We were shown the changing rooms, we walked up the tunnel, we were allowed to sit in the dugouts (that was cool) and then we were shown the media suite. I loved this part!

Literally four months later I was back there again, this time working as a journalist. I got another work experience placement with Town 102, in Ipswich: They knew I was a Town fan so they asked me to go along to the Press Conferences for them and I loved every minute. Steve the Press Officer introduced me to Jim Magilton as 'legs', Jim used to try and get Matt Holland into his answers just for me and straight after every press conference I would call Dad to let him know if anything good had been said. I loved being able to give him the inside knowledge!

In every day reporting on the club he helped me too, he would text me and make sure I knew all the stories that were coming. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Town 102, it was the best job I've had so far, and I think I made a genuinely good impression as a sports reporter. I reckon I have my Dad to thank for that too.

Nowadays, I am, sadly, a little further away from becoming a Sports Journalist than I would have liked: but I'm still trying to get there. When I was a teenager Dad always used to give me advice in 'Ipswich Town terms', and I'm sure there's a suitable analogy for me now too - perhaps he would say 'It took Ipswich five years to get back up to the Premier League, your time will come'.

I'm sure it will Daddy, and I have you to thank for all the wonderful experiences I have had with Town so far - here's hoping there'll be many more in the coming years too.

Happy Birthday Daddy.

Could there be trouble ahead with Town's latest signing? Or will Bowyer bring the success we've all being waiting patiently for?

2011-07-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

This summer Ipswich Town have been 'linked' to so many footballers I think I've lost count; but this time last week the name being thrown about on Twitter made my blood run cold.

Seven days later we have signed Lee Bowyer, chequered history and all. But was it the right move?

The debate on Twitter has been interesting to say the least; when I offered my opinion on him I was ridiculed for being childish and judgemental, being told to 'grow up' and 'give him a break'.

But I stand by my thoughts - I am not happy that a player with his personal reputation has come to a place well known for it's polite staff (on and off the pitch) who act as ambassadors for their club. For a fantastic article on this see @GavinBarber's blog, asking whether he is an 'Ipswich type of player'.

And I am not alone: @ant_itfc has been vocal in supporting me on Twitter: 'Put 'Lee Bowyer Emma Keeney' into your search engine and read some of the articles. What he said and did was sickening'.

Bear with me though, because I am not entirely adverse to giving him a chance...

As far as I'm concerned, his headline making behaviour is intolerable - particularly the fact that he is so often claimed to have shown racist tendencies. There is no place for that in football.

How did you feel when the group of people sitting in the North Stand were removed and subsequently banned due to the racist language? Digusted, disappointed, angry that Ipswich had been linked with people like that? Yeah, me too. And I don't see why I should be any less angry that I'm expected to honour someone like that on the pitch.

Along with team mate Jonathan Woodgate, Bowyer was taken to court fir the attack of an Asian student whilst he was playing in Leeds. Whilst there is, of course, the argument that he was acquitted of the charges brought against him, it is impossible to ignore the other stories that have come to light regarding similar incidents.

Former girlfriend Emma Keeney has claimed that he dumped her because he did not want to risk having a 'brown baby'. He was arrested and fined for an attack on Asian staff at a MacDonald's. And have all town fans forgotten him punching our very own Kieron Dyer whilst they BOTH played for Newcastle? I haven't.

As a society I believe that we have got to show that we are not willing to accept racist or violent behaviour. We have to do whatever we can to show the next generations that this just isn't acceptable in a civilised society. And that is why I am voicing my opinions here.

HOWEVER...

The most significant Tweet for me was from one of my favourite Tweeps, @Blue_Fred: 'He's a prem quality player on a free, what's not to like? His past is exactly that - PAST. Give the guy a break'.

I am willing to accept that these incidents all took place over ten years ago, whilst Bowyer was in his early 20's. Christ, if I was still being punished for all the things I regret doing at that age I would be a very unhappy person. (Having said that nothing I did was violent, and never racially motivated.)

Mostly the #ITFC Tweeps seem to be taking this side of the argument: @mrharrisonpage says 'I think Bowyer is a great signing for us, just what we need in midfield'.

Nowadays, Bowyer does appear to have settled down and I really do hope that the experience that he can bring to the side will help Town. I hope he's the difference between midtable mediocrity and Play Off success this year, I really do.

I am more than happy to trust in Paul Jewell who says: 'He brings bags of quality as well as experience and he will also add a goal threat... I know Birmingham were relegated last year but anyone who knows football knows Bowyer is a winner. He has been that all his career and he will bring that attitude to the dressing room'. (TWTD.co.uk)

There have been some concerns that he is now in his thirties: but, as @Blue_Fred said to me, 'although his age is a concern the deal is very good and he cliams excellent fitness levels'. His age doesn't worry as much as please me; he claims to be as fit as his younger former teammates at Birmingham and, as PJ says, I think that is a result of a pure determination to play football and win. Definetly something we were missing last year, as I repeatedly express.

But I also hope that Jewell and Clegg have made it clear to him that Ipswich Town are not a club that want to be linked to racism in anyway. I hope he has been warned that any sign of his previous behaviour will lead to him being shown the door, and fast.

THIS IS HOW I SEE IT:

Imagine your eldest daughter brings home a Narwich fan...

You know you're not going to like him, but you have no chice but to put up with him.

Deep down you might be hoping that he does something wrong and she dumps him.

But you have to give him a chance; because he just might be the one to make a difference, he just might be the one to make her happy - and by extension yourself too.

Equally, if he hurt her in anyway - by golly you would hunt him down and wring his neck...

I don't approve of this signing, I don't like the past that Lee Bowyer brings with him. But I do accept that his past is his past and he deserves a chance to prove himself.

But you mark my words: I will not be a happy bunny if he does anything to hurt my beloved Ipswich.

So which games are you going to?

2011-06-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else seen Fever Pitch? You know the scene when the couple are lying in bed and she’s trying to plan a holiday, but he won’t. And she gets angry because the reason he won’t is that it might clash with an Arsenal game…

I realised this morning: that is me!

I’ve got loads planned for July… holiday with the boyfriend, going to see Take That (again) and the last Harry Potter film. But until Friday I couldn’t see beyond there.

Suddenly, by the end of the afternoon on Fixture List Day I knew exactly where I was going to be every weekend until April next year.

So here’s the pick of my favourites, helped along once again by the Town Tweeps who had lots of banter going that day.

In the absence of Naaaarwich, the first games I looked for were the first and last and I was rather pleased because I have family in Bristol. It’s a long way to go if we lose… but Town had an unexpected win there last season and it’s hard to turn down football when you haven’t seen it for three months.

Speaking of the last game I went to see; while me and my sister were in Leicester we made a pact that from now on we would always go to the last game of the season together – so I’m equally pleased to find that this year that will be Doncaster Away.

Regular readers will know that I considered this fixture the best one of last season; the score and the atmosphere were great. Can I wholeheartedly recommend it to Town fans? It’s easy to get to (more so for me as I live twenty minutes down the A1!) and there’s lots of parking. A brilliant little shopping centre nearby provides plenty of options for pre-match food and the ground itself is almost brand new. Pencil it in your diaries now!

So, having sorted those dates out I looked towards the second trip my sister and I promised to make together – Blackpool away. Joyfully, this is in September so I am, so far, able to keep to my budgeting rule of one game a month. I missed this fixture when Blackpool were last in the same league; but will not be doing so again. As an ex-Premier League side this promises to be an exciting game and I plan to party afterwards: win, lose or draw!

Next up, I always like to see where we will be around my birthday. This year Watford Away is the day after so I feel a trip to London coming on. Hope the date suits @Blue_Fred who told me this was the game he was most looking forward to: ‘I know we never bloody win but it’s only 15 minutes drive away’.

Like him, I also try and make it to all the games that are near where I live. Being from Yorkshire, there are slightly less options on offer this year with Sheffield United and Preston being relegated. But there’s still plenty to go to, along with Doncaster.

The big one is obviously Leeds, a game @dave_harrison was also keeping an eye out for: ‘I live in Leeds, so that’s the big one for me!’ Personally I have been avoiding this match, having been put off by how their fans behaved the day we got them relegated, but I’ll see how I feel a bit closer to January 21st.

There’s also my now local team, Barnsley. Hate the fans, hate the ground, but love having an away game literally five minutes down the road! So, on December the 10th I will definitely be making the trip to Oakwell.

Also being discussed on Twitter were the Festive fixtures: Leicester and Reading Away has disappointed some fans. But I’m making sure I have a Christmas at home this year so a quick trip to the Midlands shouldn’t be too difficult for me – and will give the boyfriend a break from the childlike hyperactivity that shines from me every Christmas.

Finally, Carl Marston from the EADT has also given his take on the fixture list; including what he feels will be the ‘hardest stretch’ and the ‘easiest stretch’. Whilst it is refreshing to see that the final games are considered ‘easy’, I want to make my point that this theory just isn’t going to apply in practice.

Remember last year? Remember the ‘easy games’ that ended in dull draws and defeats from last minute goals? Remember the frustration we were feeling at the lack of consistency?

But then remember the games that no-one expected us to win? Remember Bristol away, Cardiff away and of course Arsenal at home?

The best thing about the Championship is that is so unpredictable. Anyone can win, any game, on any day. I wouldn’t bet a penny on any of our games, or any other teams for that matter, because you can never guarantee an outcome.

What matters more is that the players are up for it and want to win this year. What matters more is the consistent support from the back room staff, starting with Paul Jewell.

But what matters most is that we, the fans, are there for them. So don’t get frustrated that Town haven’t bought as many players as you’d like. Don’t get annoyed with the board because they didn’t secure Jimmy Bullard or any other high profile players. Let them do their job and you do yours.

Sing your hearts out for the lads.

WANTED: something to do with my weekends until August...

2011-06-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

Unlike the rest of the world, my calendar doesn't run from January to December: it starts in August and ends in May.

The last game of the season is like Christmas day: the party you've all been building up to.

The Champions League final and the Play Offs are that little bit of extra excitement: like New Years Eve.

But then comes June... just like January: the excitement's all gone, there's nothing to do and all you're doing is waiting for next Christmas.

Well fear not my sport loving friends because I am fast discovering there is plenty else to concentrate your efforts on. Take all your love for football and channel it into some of these sports for two months:

Tennis

First recommendation comes courtesy of one of my favourite ITFC Tweeps: @JulesHoward. She's been keeping us updated with the scores at the French Open this week, and gets overly excited by Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

Perhaps we all should follow her lead: With Wimbledon just around the corner it's time for Murray-Mania to grip the nation again, and following England's latest result I think it'd be nice to restore some national sporting pride.

Cricket

You cannot fail to have been intrigued by England's recent cricket victory. The last minute win over Sri Lanka was a corker, a perfectly written story to entice those neutral sports fans looking for somewhere to turn their attention.

Football...!?

I was also reminded that the beutiful game still ahs more to offer thanks to @bigstuw:

'Why do commentators keep saying no more footy until August? What aboutt he Women's World Cup and the Under 21's?'

The Women's World Cup begins in Germany on June 27th. Our girls are out for revenge; having lost to Germany in the final of the Euros two years ago. If you haven't already given this sport a try - do. There's some really talented girls being forced to move to America because the popularity of women's football isn't what it could be over here.

Plus: you can't honestly resist supporting England in a battle against Germany can you?!

As Stuw mentioned, there's also the England Under 21's. who managed a rather easy 2:0 win over Norway last night. The future of our sport includes our very own Connor Wickham who makes regular appearances for the side .

MotoGP/World Superbikes/British Superbikes:

I'm a reasonably new convert to this sport, having only been following it for about four years. But the excitement you get at the races cannot be equalled.

MotoGP, like F1, is glam, full of money and highly competitive. But what makes two wheels better than four in this case is the lack of arrogance and the abundance of characters. There's far more overtaking in bikes than with cars and the riders race to win - they rarely settle for second best.

World Superbikes this year is full of English riders, making it easy to watch for neutral fans. Leon Haslam's one to watch for the future, son of three times world champion Ron Haslam. My personal favourite is James Toseland... one for the girls, he's a hottie!

But my personal recommendation, should you be searching for something to do this summer, is the British Superbikes Championship. There's much less money here so it's a lot tighter than other competitions. There's a huge range of riders taking part: the older and more experienced, the younger and more adventurous (substitute for 'likely to crash'!), the consistently clever who make their way up the pack steadily, and there's even a girl this year! There's tracks across the country too (Nearest to Suffolk is Snetterton in Naaaaarfolk) and the tickets cost £30 - same as Town only for a whole day of entertainment.

Me at Brand's Hatch for the opening round of the British Superbikes!

Let me know if there's anything you can recommend to keep the boredom away this summer - leave a comment on my post or Tweet me @tractorgirlamy

In the mean time, here's how I see the summer this year:

Take the chance to absorb some other sports, see what else there is on offer. Of course football will always be your first love and you'll forgive your self for saying, 'Bikes/Tennis/Cricket are cool ... But they're not my beloved Ipswich'. The brief change in scenery will be nice for you though!

At least it might help take your mind off the transfer window...

Transfer window? More like supermarket sweep for Town fans!

2011-05-19T01:24:00.000-07:00

Interesting theory on Twitter this week: davegoods reckons there's seven places to fill in the Ipswich Town first team this summer. Quite a task for our PJ.

I think you've got to consider even more than that. Our starting 11 could literally be anything next year: and trying to figure out who it will be is proving to be quite exciting!

Firstly, there's the ongoing saga with Jimmy Bullard. This story has more twists and obstacles than the A14 and it seems unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Word has it he wants to stay, Paul Jewell has said he wants him to stay, and we know already how much the fans want him to stay... yet there's still now word on an actual contract.

For me, it's all a bit too 'been there done that': remember Frannie Jeffers? The man was a legend at Portman Road for a few months and my god we wanted to sign him permanently. But when it came to the crunch he chose Sheffield Wednesday and the bigger wage packet. At the moment I don't see Jimmy playing in Blue and White next year. Sadly.

But what else does the boss say? Jewell's told reporters he's after a proven scorer - Hallelujah! He says the type of player he's after is Watford striker Danny Graham: the Championship's top scorer this year with 27 goal in all competitions. I fear we'd be shooting out of our league with this particular line of enquiry because there's reportedly Premiership interest too. But I like the way Jewell's thinking:

'I want a striker who will do anything to get a goal. We haven't got that devilment, that type of player who will kick his granny to score a goal'.

Isn't that exactly what the Town fans have been wanting all along?! My confidence in Jewell grows a little bit more every day, thanks to comments like this. It does make me wonder how different things might have been had Keane left at the end of last year and given Jewell some time with 2010's summer transfer list.

Speaking of strikers, there is, of course, the rejected bid for Billy Sharp. Here's a striker with a good reputation in the Championship, who has shown signs of that 'anything for a goal' attitude. There's plenty of time for Town to come up with another bid, but again the rumours of Premiership interest may get in the way. Isn't it annoying?!

Then, there's also talk on fan site Those Were The Days that we're targetting belgian midfielder Germinal Beerschott. He's a very tall midfielder who's been capped for his country. Even if it's not true it serves as a reminder that Paul will have his fingers in pies we've not even thought of. So trust the big man I reckon.

With all these rumours flying around I was feeling a bit dizzy, so I turned to twitter and the ITFC Tweeps! 'If you were PJ who would you spend your pocket money on?' The response was a full blown shopping list from dave_harrison, though as he said it was 'more fantasy football than realistic football'.

Bullard, Goodwillie, Sharp, Coppinger, St Ledger, Montgomery, Westwood, George, Boyd .

Now, defender St Ledger's a very interesting idea that I've not seen anywhere else yet. We were linked with him in January but it was decided that the requested £2.5 million was too high. A strong defender with experience in this league and a good reputation could be just what we need with our McAuley heading to pastures new. Perhaps that asking price will have gone down now his club Preston have been relegated?

Join the Town Tweeps and follow me on Twitter @tractorgirlamy

Elsewhere, I've just discovered http://www.lewis-mitchell.com/ which kicked up some more 'realistic' ideas. Blogger Lewis suggests Shaun Derry; a midfielder who came close to a deal with us last summer but financial issues put a stop to it. Lewis also ponders the possibility that, now QPR have been promoted, Derry's 33 year old legs and stamina would be better suited to the Championship than the Premier League. Lewis also comes up with Sheffield United defender Nick Montgomery. Another player with a good reputation... previous to this year anyway! However, I am reliably informed by my boyfriend (a life long Blade), Montgomery's a true United-ike, most likely, would want to see them back up to the league they've just been relegated from.

Of course all of this speculation will come to nothing if Clegg and Evans don't back Jewell with the necessary finances. I do get the impression they understand that is what's needed to get out of this league. But, will they deliver on that? Was the lack of support from the board the reason Keane left? Did he just feel he wasn't given the money? Were McAuley and Norris not simply looking for a move to the Premiership? Could there have been more to it, more going on behind the scenes than we know?

We'll find out soon enough; but I am reminded of what one fan said on Twitter in response to shouts for 'Clegg out'. What is everyone worrying about? The football season still hasn't finished; there's plenty of time.

So, bearing all that in mind, who would I pick? Any of the above and more besides.

For me though, the important thing is not who the players are but how well they gel together next year. Town have to enter August with a confidence and total desire to win every game. In the pit of my tummy I'm getting the same feeling I was getting in the mid nineties - that we were at the start of something good. It may take us a few years to get there. It may take us four attempts to win the Play Offs. But one day we will, once again, be Premier League.

Was 2010/2011 just the season we'll soon forget?

2011-05-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

If this was a school report it would probably read: 'Town have tried hard through this difficult year, but they must do better next year'.

Roy Keane this week told reporters, 'my only regret is that I signed the contract before I met the Chief Executive. I won't be doing that again' (www.bbc.co.uk/sport). My opinion: if he found it that difficult to work with the board at Ipswich he should have left. But c'est la vie and we seem to be happily drawing a rather thick black line under that particular chapter of Ipswich Town history. Time to move on.

The introduction of Paul Jewell as the new boss could not have been more different to the media hype of Roy Keanes entrance. Keane was practically brought to the club with a fanfare and fireworks; followed by a promise that he would get the club promoted within two years. A promise that was inevitably left broken.

Whereas the conference with Paul Jewell seemed much more calm: here was a familiar face with a reasonable reputation in the Championship, who's outlook on the coming season was somewhat more realistic: 'We all want to be in the Premier League but if you go in and you're not quite ready you can be eaten alive...Promotion is definetly the long term goal' (www.dailymail.co.uk/sport).

Town fans breathed a sigh of a relief... that's what we've all been saying!

Having come to a team who had lost ten of their last 14 games (including a 7-0 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea), Jewell's magic seemed to work immediately when we won the next three games on the trot. Something Keane had never managed.

But Town fans remained cautious, wary of getting too excited too soon, and press reports of us making the Play Offs were mostly laughed off. The inconsistency of the following results served as justification for the scepticism.

Whilst one minute the team were experiencing the highs of a wonderful Carling Cup run and an unexpected win over Leicester in extremely heavy snow. The next minute they suffered some seriously awful lows: the game at Carrow Road being the best example. They never seemed to be able to settle down and find some form.

Such is the nature of the Championship, to be fair. From game to game you never know what the result is going to be because any club can win on any day. It's what makes it exciting and it's why I love it. But, sometimes you do think you'd give up that excitement for a bit of consistency.

And that's what I wish for next year; some consistency and good form. To know that we put our all into every game and did the best we could. I'm not sure that can be said for many of the games this year.

Game of the Season:

For most people there's no question: it has to be beating Arsenal 1-0 at Portman Road. What a special night for everyone involved with the club.

Another game worth noting is the 3-0 win over Sheffield United: the day the world discovered Connor Wickham thanks to that goal!

But for me the Game of the Season was Doncaster away. I've been wanting to go to the Keepmoat stadium for years as it's less than half an hour away from where I live. I arrived on a really miserable night huddled in my car before kick off eating a packed lunch tea. But the atmosphere among the Tractor Boys was electric; still reeling from the recent win over Arsenal. That mood seemed to transfer to the pitch as the boys ruled Yorkshire for the night. 6-0 was a thoroughly deserved scoreline thanks to the organised football and pure passion from a team that actually looked hungry for a win for once. Of course Connor was on fire too, which helped a bit!

Player of the Season:

Part of me wants to say Connor for that hat trick alone.

And a personal favourite of mine is Jamie Peters; who earned standing ovations when he was brought on as a sub for the last four or five games.

But my final decision goes the same way as the vast majority of Town fans who voted overwhelmingly for loanee Jimmy Bullard. It's been a long time since we've had a player who can single-handedly change the attitude of the whole team. From the moment he joined us in January we were transformed into a team that looked like we could win any game, and more importantly like one that wanted to.

So, Mr Paul Jewell: Please do whatever it takes to bring Jimmy to Portman Road permanently. I'm sure he's tempted by the lure of the Premiership and its larger wage packets; but if he came to Town he would instantly become a living legend, a name to go down in history, quite simply - a god.

Chant of the season:

Once again so many that deserve a mention:

My personal favourite was 'Barnsley's a s****hole, I wanna go home'. To which my response was, it's alright for you mate, I AM home!

Then there's the befuddling 'shoes off for the town' which I still don't totally get, but enjoy how much it confuses the opposition fans!

But the number one spot goes undoubtedly to a chant that we apparently 'borrowed' from Newcastle. It rates up there with 'Finidi, ohhhhh, Finidi ohhhhh, he comes from Africa, he drives a big tractor' and 'Matteo Sereni he comes from Italy, Matteo Sereni, better than Wrighty'. Hopefully it's one we'll be singing for many years to come...

'Oh Jimmy Bullard,
You are the love of my life,
Oh Jimmy Bullard,
I'll let you sleep with my wife,
Oh Jimmy Bullard,
I want curly hair too'.

Quick thank you to my Dad for sorting me out with Naaaarwich tickets this year, buying me the new away shirt when I couldn't afford it and remebering to call me on that emotional night against Arsenal.

And also to my sister who joins me on many games in the North as she is a fellow long distance fan. But she mainly deserves a mention for singing the above song at the top of her voice in Leicester train station!

Toseland's Tumble Doesn't Stop Him Being Top

2008-06-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ever since England were knocked out of Euro 2008 I've been racking my brains for something to do while Town are on their summer break...

This weekend I think I found a replacement, the Moto GP.

I've been watching it for a while now, every Sunday I pop on BBC 2 and wait for Suzi Perry to take me through the race track.

This week it was the British leg of the Championship at Donnington Park... and my god am I in love with this sport.

It's kind of like going to see the Blues at an away game - you travel up with fellow fans, stopping at packed out service stations for brekkie and feeling like you're part of one big family.

Except this family has 100,000 people in it and they all love the same thing!

We sat at McCleans corner (the one before the Coppice hairpin), surrounded by blue and yellow '52' flags - the colours and number of British rider James Toseland.

You know, with the footie not doing anything for national pride this summer I'd have thought JT would have got more attention than he has.

His first year in the best league of the sport and before the race he was 7th in the championship, had finished all but two of his races in the top ten and is a shining example of British pride.

Despite some poor warm up sessions, James was determined to do well for the British fans that had turned out to see him - and so, with his bike suit emblazoned with the St George's cross, he went into the race willing to except nothing but his best.

So the race began and all our heads turned to the big screens. You can imagine the collective gasp when, at the first corner, that red and white suit rose above the others and then came tumbling down underneath its bike.

To say I was gutted would be an understatement.

But the super-boy got up, dusted himself down and jumped back on the bike.

He was over half a lap behind the pack and as that gap grew it was clear that the bike had taken a battering - along with his ego.

I was so proud of him for carrying on, and clearly all the other fans were too. Each of the 29 times he rode past there was a round of applause and lots of cheers.

He knew we were there to see him and he didn't want to let us down.

What a boy.

So I'll be sticking with this new found passion for a little while longer - if only for the pictures of Mr Toseland.

Who knows what I'll do when the football season starts again and the two sports clash....

.... Maybe one day I'll be rolling up to Portman Road on the back of James' bike!!??

Legalisation: The Right Solution To Prostitution?

2008-06-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Eighteen months ago two young girls were reported missing by their worried families.

They were Tania Nicholl and Gemma Adams, sex workers from Ipswich.

In the following month their bodies and the bodies of three girls like them were found, strangled and dumped. The Suffolk town would never be the same again.

Today the East Anglian reported that, thanks to the work of the Police and local Community projects in Ipswich, there are now NO girls working on the streets of Ipswich.

I recently made a Radio Documentary about what has been done in there to eradicate prostitution. In light of today's news I wanted to share it with you:

The government are yet to consider the Prostitution clauses of the Criminal Justice and Immigration bill.

It’s a debate that attracts a lot of attention and could see the UK move to either decriminalise sex workers, or completely outlaw the industry.

So what did Ipswich do that worked so well?

But that's obviously not the ONLY way to deal with the issue. What else has been done around the world?

So what do you think? It's such a complicated issue but it's so important that we make our minds up and decide on a course of action to help these girls.

Genuinely, everyone I met when I was making this documentary really believed in what they are doing.

The girls that have been helped by the Iceni project had absolutely no hope in life. They were desperate, at absolute rock bottom. Suzannah would probably have gone the same way as her parents if she hadn't had Brian and Co. to save her.

What if it was you, your Mum, your sister, or your DAUGHTER? Wouldn't you want to do whatever you could to get them out of this life?

No girl WANTS to be in this life, so lets help them get out of it.

May it one day not even be an option.

It's a Mann's World

2008-06-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Silverstone to support a local World Renault Series driver...

Pippa Mann is from Ipswich, she's 23 and she's the only woman driver in the league that feeds into the Formula One championship.

I covered the race for Town 102 because she's a local girl... plus, it was a nice chance to report on something other than football.

Here's the package I put together for them which went on air today:

Pippa's been driving since thirteen, when she competed in Go-Karting competitions. By the age of nineteen she was driving for one of the top karting teams.

In 2007 she joined the Renault World Series and became the first female driver to earn points in that league.

This weekend she started the first race from 23rd place. As she says in the interview her tyres weren't right and it was a struggle for her to keep the car on the track at all.

But she managed to overtake one driver and with others dropping or crashing out of the race she finished 19th, leaving her 20th on the grid for the second race.

That's the one I attended.

Silverstone was not what I expected at all.

Being a seasoned football fan I thought it would be a beautiful, modern circuit with modern stands around it and maybe some hospitality suites for the VIPs.

But the seating areas... were the grass. And the VIP bit was a tent connected to her truck.

And do you know what? I think it was great!

There were so many people around (10, 000 apparently), and I started to feel bad for my stubborn addiction to the beautiful game. I'd never heard of the World Series before I was offered the opportunity to go there, but its worth a peep trust me.

Its an open race, no driver has won more than two races so far this season, and with less money than the Formula One the teams have to work even harder on their cars.

Its free to go and see, so check it out!

Anyway, back to the race.

Pippa spent her time battling with Brit Duncan Tappy. He was on her tail for the most of the race but she held him off well.

At one point she actually managed to lose him, catching up with the 19th place car. But another fault with the car saw her drop back.

Actually, it meant the dying seconds were the most exciting part of the race as she pulled right over to the inside to stop Tappy nipping past and held him off as she headed over the finish line.

The reaction at the camp was one of pride for her. She'd raced well, especially considering the severe heat yesterday.

She's now 25th in the league (of 26....) but it's only half way through the season so I'll be rooting for her to pick up a few more points.

I talked to her for a bit about my favourite topic, the treatment of Women in Sport. She says she's used to being the only girl in a man's world:

Pippa's next race is in Hungary on the 5th July, so good luck Pippa - give me something to think about while there's no footie!

Becoming a Sports Journalist....The Next Chapter

2008-04-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

This Tractor Girl has been away from the scene a little, but she's back for good now!

I have been completing the 'TV News' module of my MA, as part of which I have produced some bulletins for our three weekly shows on 'Westminster News'.

The best and most popular pieces of work have been used for our Website Westminster News Online.

I'm also going to be putting my favourites on our joint Blog 'The Word From Westminster'.

Anyway, heres the interesting bit......

I've recorded a Newsreel that we have produced, it showcases the best work from the module and gave me a turn at presenting:

Captain Fantastic

2008-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

I was trying to think today of all the Ipswich Town Captain's I have seen in my lifetime.

Of course there's Mattie Holland...

Our very own Jim Magilton...

Legwinski, Wilnis and Naylor in recent years...

And now Jason De Vos.

On the pitch he seems to have such a presence, and it's no different when you meet him face to face.

He is absolutely HUGE - and I was in heels!

He's very knowledgable of the game, the club and how to handle the media. But at the same time he came across as relaxed which helped me to do the same.

Reminded me alot of Jim in that way!

Whilst I was setting up he told me how wierd it was for him sitting at home watching the football on Saturday when he would normally have been playing.

It was like me telling my friends how wierd I felt staying in on Wednesday night when I'd normally be out with them.

Except this was Jase...

And he obviously wanted to be playing football as much as I wanted to be in the SU bar last Wednesday!

As for the game, well I think they are looking forward to it.

The captain feels confident that the boys have made the most of their time off over the weekend.

He told me that the schedule is so jam packed they don't really have the time to practice whats going wrong and iron out the creases.

This week gave them an opportunity to do that.

Also, of course, it gave them a chance to rest their bodies a little.

I had been dying to ask him about David Norris playing at Portman Road and how he thought he'd cope with it.

Its the thing I've most been looking forward to about tomorrow night.

I figured it would be our chance, as fans, to make him feel welcome and encourage him to pick us as a future team.

But their boss, Paul 'I'm too scared of loosing my best player to a better team' Sturrock, has decided to leave him out.

He feels that Norris would be under too much pressure and cannot risk him being distracted.

Thing is, I said this to Jason and he said that that wouldn't happen.

(Just want to point out he said this before we heard the news on the Plymouth team so he wasn't being rude or anything!)

He said that as a player, once you are on the pitch you forget about everything else. All that matters is the game and getting a win.

I think Sturrock should have given Norris the chance to prove his worth, personally.

Listen to the De Vos interview:

Quick note on those transfers - Jim seems to think it'll get busy again on Wednesday and Thursday with regards to our plans so hopefully by the end of the week we'll have some newbies on board.

Finally, the Sturrock article also included accusations that Ipswich have not handled the transfer very well.

Jim actually alluded to something along these lines in his interview. Saying that he felt we had been patient and fair.

But Mr Sturrock seems to think we have created a bit of a media circus.

Thing is I don't think the club have ever said any more than 'We have offered a million for him'.

As my very knowledgable Daddy pointed out: The biggest point for gossip was a Derek Davis article saying Norris had not been to training - which of course led us to think he might be on the way out.

But where did he get that information from? I don't think he decided to spend the day on the south coast watching a mid-table Championship team go through training, do you?

Maybe the Plymouth camp isn't as inaccessible as we seem to be finding it when it concerns transfers, eh?

Favourite line of the day:

Jim Magilton: "I couldn't care less who's playing for them to be honest... I just want to win".

Well said!

Dream Come True

2008-01-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

Ever had one of those weeks where you just feel like things could be working out just perfectly?

This week I began a four week work placement at Town 102 Radio, in Ipswich.

Everybody has said to me: 'Wow you'll be covering the Prostitute Murders Court Case'.

Thing is, that wasn't what was exciting me...!

In September my Dad and I went on the Portman Road Stadium Tour. We saw memorabilia from the glory years, walked through the players tunnel and best of all we visited the media centre.

Sat in seats in the press room I looked around and realised how 'at home' I felt. I really could see myself in the same seat in a few years time asking Jim how it feels to be top of the Premiership!!

Ok so I haven't managed that just yet but as you've seen I did get to enjoy an interview with him.

The highlight of that morning though was the fulfillment of one of my life-long dreams - interviewing an Ipswich Town player.

Interviewing Owen Garvan has been the best part of my placement so far.

He was very very sweet, VERY very cute and VERY VERY Irish. Which makes him perfect in my eyes!

We spoke mostly about the lack of away wins for Town.

You get the impression that they want the win just to relieve some pressure. As Owen says, it would be nice to get it off their minds.

He was also very sweet about the new signings - considering Jim is aiming for midfielders which would bring competition in against him.

He said it could help us and that he's looking forward to it.

But one very good comment he did make was that he doesn't feel it is new tactics or new players that will help us pick up the points on the road.

He believes it is all down to the mentality of the team. They want it so bad but they need to show it and work hard to get it.

What a sensible boy!

Listen to the interview in full.

So there we are, item number one on my list of 'Things to do before Im 30' can be ticked off...

...Next up, get one of them to marry me!

Town to illuminate Blackpool

2008-01-19T06:19:00.000-08:00

As part of my placement with Town 102 I have finally been given the chance to visit Portman Road in the guise of a Journalist.

Yesterday morning I battled through the poor weather traffic on the A14 to attend the weekly Ipswich Town Press Conference.

I was so nervous... but it was sooooooo good!!!

Town travel up North to Blackpool today, a team they haven't played in the league since the seventies.

The league newcomers currently occupy 16th place, 9 places but just 7 points behind us.

They have made a good impression in the Championship, loosing only three of their games at Bloomfield Road.

Jim Magilton, the most laidback guy I think I've ever met when it comes to dealing with the media, explained that the style of the ground - i.e. the lack of roofs! - will affect the way the game is played:

DivShare File - blackpool.wav

He paid particular praise to midfielder Wes Hoolahan and manager Simon Grayson:

Hoolahan

Grayson

But what about our team? Gary Roberts makes an unexpected return to the squad.

Gary has had a bit of a bad start to the season, making mistakes all over the field but Jim has decided he has earned a second chance.

The only injury worry we have is Gavin Williams, the boss doesn't want to risk making him play when he's not fully fit.

DivShare File - squad better.wav

All the local papers seem to be talking about is the transfer window.

With the club actually having money this year everybody is getting a little over-excited about who we can buy.

18 days in, the pressure is beginning to build on Jim to make a purchase, but he insisted he will not panic buy:

DivShare File - transfers.wav

On my way home after work it suddenly dawned on me that I had been sitting opposite the man that has more influence on my life than any other person.

Every decision he makes at Ipswich can potentially lead to me being very happy, or completely distraught.

It was surreal to be around him in his world... but then I realised - It's my world
now too!

Apologies for the late publishing of this article - am having problems with my computer!

Spotlight on Ipswich

2008-01-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

I have been a bit distressed this week to see my rolling news board on this page has been filled with stories of Steve Wright.

The trial of the man accused of killing five prostitutes began on Monday and every news department in the country appears to have moved into Ipswich.

For the next eight weeks our humble town will provide the leading story for the whole world - if only it were for something happier, eh?

I am lucky enough to be on month long placement at Town 102 Radio in Ipswich at the moment and it is fascinating watching them handle this major incident.

What is interesting is the difference between the small local stations (like Town) and bigger national organisations.

BBC Look East had three reporters at the court yesterday - they even went as far as presenting the evening news from outside.

Our station had a lovely reporter down there - and then rushing back to work through her lunch break on other local stories.

It just seems an injustice to me that the local journalists who have been there from the beginning, who have held campaigns to make women in Ipswich safer, are missing out on the big interviews to news producers that would not normally give two hoots about Ipswich.

In time people will start to forget what has happened but Ipswich will be forever stained with the events, just as Soham was.

I have no doubt reports of Ipswich Town games will all start with the line: The atmosphere in the ground was sombre because of what was going on down the road...

Anyway, back to the real world - The Blues have Blackpool on Saturday and they still haven't been able to get Norris...

...I'm sorry but it's what I've been thinking about this week!

Bright spark on the field

2008-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Danny Haynes showed the Portman Road crowd why he has made eight starts in the last nine games.

The youngster has previously impressed Ipswich Town fans, and indeed many others around the country but has found it hard to shake the 'Super - sub' label.

He told the website that he believes this is down to the tactics he has had to learn from his new playing position.

Along with Jonnie Walters and Billy Clarke, Danny has moved from up front to the wing - a job that entails much more defensive work.

I have always liked Danny - if for nothing else but his pure desire to score goals.

He has been increasingly impressive during recent games, and more notably for setting up chances on goal and doing his bit for the defence.

He is growing up and I have a feeling he will prove the doubters that he can make it as a first team regular.

(Sorry Daddy - I know you are one of them!)

His performance was rewarded with a special mention by the man who has held of giving him that place.

Jim Magilton called him our most dangerous player - and on a day when Alan Lee was in surprisingly good form that is a compliment!

When you draw 0:0 with an unglamorous team like Stoke its easy to feel a little hard done by - but I have to keep reminding myself Stoke are fourth.

Had the game lasted thirty minutes we would have secured a victory to be proud of.

We were fantastic - strong chances up front, solid defence and some good looking passes across the field.

But their goal from Ricardo Fuller (what is it with Ex-Ipswich players scoring against us) seemed to wash away our superiority and the rest of the game was much tougher.

Jim told the EADT the scoreline was'about right' for both teams.

But Stoke boss, Tony Pulis, felt the visitors deserved a penalty courtesy of Neil Alexander.

The popular keeper did appear to catch the boy but I think Pulis' accusation that Alexander 'took his legs away' was an exaggeration and a grab for an excuse for Fuller not converting more chances.

BBC Radio Suffolk again provided me with the best summary of the game saying that it was a hard fought point.

Well deserved, for both sides.

New Year, New Leaf?

2008-01-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

I woke up on Wednesday morning worn out from working at a nightclub on New Years Eve, and ever so slightly hungover from the champagne.

The prospect of West Brom at home did not encourage me to get out of bed!

Since Charlton away we have drawn at home to Scunthorpe and Burnley, the latter being the most dismal game I have seen in long while, and lost away in two equally appalling performances at Leicester and Coventry.

Add to that the fact the Baggies are top of the league and one of the favourites to go up this year, I was not hopeful for a happy result.

But I love my boys so I dragged myself over to Suffolk and I am so glad I did.

Give them their dues, West Brom are the best team I have seen play this season – they possess far more Premiership class than the likes of the inconsistent Watford.

Had it ended 0:0 I would have been really proud.

As for our boys, the lacklustre team that I saw at Leicester last week was long gone.

My man of the match was Alex Bruce, he was solid and professional and barely made a mistake all game – although if he is going to continue clearing the ball with his head he would do well to practice a bit!

David Wright turned in another fine performance, and was deservedly rewarded with the goal that broke the deadlock.

That goal was set up by EADT Man of the Match, Liam Trotter. I felt the youngster did have a fantastic game – creating play and passing the ball well. But after 70 minutes he looked shattered and had to be substituted.

My man Jonnie Walters had another good game, although he was very quiet. I would prefer to see him play on the right with Wright (!); but he did his job as a striker and missed a number of good chances on goal.

One other person I wanted to mention was Danny Haynes. He had another superb game, looking energetic and confident. Many other young players would look out of depth with such quality opponents but he upped his game and I was impressed – a permanent first team position could soon be his perhaps?

Ipswich are one of those teams who always benefit from playing against ‘better’
clubs. Following some recent awful performances, Town gave 24,000 fans an enjoyable afternoon at last.

And so with the New Year we turn over a New Leaf and hopefully will be able to build on this result to start securing that Play-Off position.

As a Radio Suffolk listener reminded us:

‘Ipswich haven’t lost away this year…’!

BBC Honours Our Bobby

2007-12-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sir Bobby Robson who was given the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 'Life-Time Achievement' Award.

Sir Bobby made a moving 10 minute speech tonight after receiving the award - with specific mention to his old club Ipswich Town.

David Sheepshanks and Jim Magilton were there to support the ex-manager and the EADT have released their report on the event.

Congratulations to Sir Bobby, who I have grown up admiring as a figure well loved and respected not only at Portman Road but throughout the world of football.

There's only one Mattie Holland...

2007-12-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to go to the Valley for years... four years to be precise... because that was when my favourite ever player moved there - Matt Holland

As one of the Chamionship to Premiership 'yo-yo teams' I have always respected Charlton Athletic and had been looking forward to travelling to South London for a long time.

Not just to see my Mattie!

An appalling first half was partly made up for by a passionate second half performance, as this report from the Website describes, with a contender for the goal of the season from Counago!

But yesterday my high opinion of our hosts was severely damaged by the dirty tactics used by their players. I'm sure it sounds like sour grapes but the red card awarded for an foul after the final whistle proves my point.

Jonathan Fortune was sent off for punching Alan Lee to the ground just seconds after the five minute injury time had come to an end.

The incident has been only vaguley described by reports today but if you ask me he should have been forced to take an early bath long before the fight broke out.

Fortune had conceded a free kick for pulling Lee down just outside the area, the result of a number of nasty fouls on our striker - which continued until the end.

There was time wasting from every Charlton player, frustrating when Ipswich were trying to maintain the momentum they had build up following the Pablo goal.

And then there's Danny Mills....

Foul after unsportsmanly foul on Jonathan Walters who spend most of the second half with a bandage round his head, fighting off the bullying of Mills.

After a particularly bad foul on Walters he refused for at least five minutes to answer the referee's request that he join him.

Even once he did listen to the official he refused to take his punishment - wasting more precious time.

I cant understand why football clubs employ such awful players - he is hardly a role model to young footballers, is he? And not someone that I would want associated with my family.

Lucky then that Charlton had Mattie Holland to make up for it.

As the teams entered the pitch my heart skipped a beat when i saw him for the first time since Richard Naylor's testimonial.

During the warm up he walked over to our half to shake hands with old colleague Jim Magilton, and when the squads were read out he recieved a huge appluase from the 3,000 Ipswich fans.

Best of all was the respect he showed the away fans at the end of the match.

My Dad and I have long considered Holland's lap of honour at Portman Road a beloved tradition... so to recieve that honour again yesterday, I dont mind admitting, brought tears to my eyes - just as it had the last time he did it at Derby County.

Matt has kept up his relationship with the Tractor Boys, often travelling to Suffolk to watch games and even picking us as his promotion favourites - along with Chalrton of course!

When he came out of the ground over an hour after full time he was so friendly and welcoming to the waiting Town fans.

He asked us if we'd had a nice day, said he was sorry the result wasn't better for us and chatted away about how pleased he was to be playing again after his knee injury.

What an asset to any club he goes to.

And I swear that as we were asking him if he'll ever come back to us... there was the tiniest hint of a twinkle in his eye!

Good Night Southampton

2007-11-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

Attending evening matches has got to be my favourite past time, the atmosphere is something truly special.

Like going on a school trip or waking up on Christmas morning, you know its not something you get to do every day and so you treasure it.

Saturday's attract a much larger crowd and so on a Tuesday you get the feeling that those who have made it have made an extra special effort. Like at away matches you feel like you are an extra specially committed to the boys for attending.

Two years ago Ipswich faced Southampton in an evening game that ended 2:2, a result which just won't be enough tonight according to Alan Lee.

He told the EADT that the failure to pick up more points away means that we MUST continue to achieve maximum points when playing at home: 'By seeing of Southampton and then Barnsley on Saturday we will be right back up there again'.

Winning at home makes us real contenders for promotion, without that we might be closer to our friends in Naaaaaarwich. I fear that the pressure from this may have become as huge as the desire to start winning away.

Can we handle the pressure?

The return of Gavin Williams on Saturday was very welcome but he is unlikely to be playing tomorrow. He feels that two games in four days may be too much at the moment and Jim doesn't want to risk aggravating the injury.

My man Jonnie Walters looks set to miss the game aswell due to a groin injury.

Other than that the squad looks good, which is more than can be said for Southampton.

Former Town manager George Burley is without seven of his main players, meaning they will field a 'make-shift' defence.

Town have scored the most goals at home, Southampton have conceded the most away from home and with the added bonus of putting a few past ex-tractor boy Kelvin Davis, surely the players can't miss...

Need a bit of Magic

2007-11-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

If you'd have been a fly-on-the-wall of my SU bar on Wednesday night you would have heard me declaring that the story would be entirely different if Jim Magilton were England manager.

Magic would not have kept De Vos out of the team, he would not have played Garvan if his previous performances had been bad and he would not have given Andrew Plummer a place if Supple was available...

Our Jim would not have settled for that first half performance, he'd have screamed and shouted and thrown some boots at their heads to get a result.

Turns out he and Steve McClaren have more in common than I would like to admit. Yesterday's performance in Cardiff was disappointing and though we improved in the second half we just couldn't pull out a goal.

Remind you of Wednesday night anyone??

Now I am in no way starting a man-hunt to get Magilton sacked - he's our greatest asset, I believe - but his interview following the match was as vague and full of cliches as McClaren had given on Thursday.

He may be becoming tired of answering questions about our away performance, but until there's an answer those questions won't stop: 'You sit here and I will ask you, because I have no idea.'(Derek Davis quotes Jim in the EADT)

Fair point Jim, no-one understands your frustration more than us - but it is not our job to sort this little problem out.

20 second highlights

Having been featured on the Championship two weekends ago it was sad to see us reduced this morning to just 20 seconds. Sadly that may have been all that was necessary.

Alan Lee hit the bar and the post in one shot twenty seconds after kick-off and Tommy Miller had a shot cleared off the line.

As unlucky as these were, no other chances materialised.

It's hard to believe we put six past Bristol just two weeks ago.

One thing got to me - Jim told the website 'We did not have enough leaders on the park. We cannot rely on Jason De Vos for that'.

The best leader other than Jase, and Alexander whose rants from goal have made me giggle, is Sylvain Legwinski.

But Leggi remained on the bench and the team remained unorganised.

Even McClaren figured out he needed the passion of David Beckham, maybe Jim should have taken note.

Saying that it made little difference in the end on Wednesday!

So Jim I will not for one second criticise your puzzlement on this issue as I have no idea what you should do either.

But please think of something quick before the Naaarwich catch up with us.

International Blues

2007-11-16T03:11:00.000-08:00

The sports pages have been full this week of statistics on foreign players in the English Football league.

Arsenal, a team who used to be known for its youth training, fielded a completely non-english squad. Seeing as they are top of the Premiership it is a telling statistic of the direction in which the league is moving.

I had always believed that Ipswich, with their famous youth training academy, were an example to all with their home grown talent - Kieron Dyer, Richard Wright, Titus Bramble and Darren Bent have all done us proud (to some extent!).

But when I thought more about it I realised that our starting team actually contains a majority of non-English players:

Neil Alexander: Scottish
Tony Wright: English
Alex Bruce: English
Jason De Vos: Canadian
Dan Harding: English
Jonathan Walters: English
Tommy Miller: English
Owen Garvan: Irish
Billy Clarke: Irish
Alan Lee: Irish
Pablo Counago: Spanish

(N.B. English player Bruce has been called up for the Irish squad and Walters has been linked to the country's B team!)

6 out of 11 foreigners in the first team - and when Wilnis and Legwinski play that can go up to 8.

But is that a bad thing? Counago, De Vos, Alexander and Lee are all from foreign shores but Town's story this season may have been completely different without them.

So I say thanks to the Spanish for giving us Pablo and I raise my glass to the Canadians for Jason.

What difference does a player's nationality make if that player is passionate and committed to his team?

As for the worry that these international players will overshadow our own talent - perhaps the English should develop the mentality that a little competition never did anyone any harm and maybe it could even improve us.

So I say all for one and one for all - unless you are from Naaaarfalk!!!

Walters Wonderland

2007-11-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

My favourite Tractor Boy, Jonathan Walters, has been tipped for International football after hitting his first ever hat trick on Saturday, in another thrilling game at Portman Road.

When I was travelling back to East Anglia on a train full of grumpy commuters I began to wonder if I'd chosen the best game to come home to.

Bristol have had an impressive season so far and have the record of never having lost when they have scored the first goal. With our shaky defence I was concerned by this statistic.

But five minutes in and the nerves had worn off, Johnnie had scored and less than a minute later Pablo had an almost identical shot go just wide of the post. I started to believe we might be ok.

On the fifteenth minute a goal from unexpected source David Wright set us 2:0 up. Walters and Wright had created some clever moves on the right hand side, much to the crowd's pleasure, and the defender deserved to get on the scoreboard for his part so far.

Fifteen minutes from half time Jim Magilton substituted Alan Lee for Danny Haynes. Lee had controlled the Bristol defence until this point and I was a little concerned by his early exit - especially as Haynes seemed to look somewhat lost in the fast paced game.

Lee was suffering from a knock to his Achilles but has declared he should be fit for our next game in 10 days time.

The second half flew by in a flurry of goals, I almost didn't dare close my eyes in case the world had changed when I opened them again!

Walters, of course, added twice to the score and Pablo and Miller were the others on target.

Despite Johnnie's hat trick I believe that the best man on the field was Pablo Counago. As my Dad has said after every game, 'Chamionship defenders just don't know how to handle him', he's got skill, speed and an imagination that ties them in knots.

How wonderful is it to not have to worry about loosing him in the transfer window to raise funds for the club?

By the end of the game the 20,000 fans were singing 'We want 7...!'

How about at Cardiff next Saturday??!

Wish I was there

2007-11-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

My sympathies go out to those people who are, for whatever reason, unable to travel to Town matches. Yesterday I became an 'Armchair fan' for the most important game of the season and it was torture!

I was so nervous I was jumping around and punching anything within arms reach which is not a good idea when the closest thing to you is your wonderful boyfriend who has given up his Sunday afternoon to watch a football game for you. (I'm sorry if I bruised you baby!)

It was however nice to hear the commentators raving about a game that was, genuinely, really enjoyable to watch. There was some nice attacking football and so much passion from both teams.

Pablo Counago was our star player yesterday - even though his habit of falling over in and around the penalty area was again made clear! His assistance for Alan Lee's goal was pure class, holding the ball up for Lee and he caused their defence no end of problems.

It was nice to see him rewarded with a derby goal. Replays showed that the ball should have been given for a goal-kick but these things happen, especially when Rob Styles is refereeing!

Our exciting attacking play was overshadowed somewhat by the shakey defence. It should have been easy enough to pick Dion Dublin out as a the main threat so I was gobsmacked when he came close to scoring no less than FOUR times.

Equally, as Sky said - when a player is given a job for defending corners he should fulfill that, not just stand there whilst the player he is meant to be marking nips in front and puts the ball in the back of the net.

As such their first goal was scored and Alan Lee was the man to blame. My Dad reckons that the corner in quesiton should not have been a corner. As my whole world had come to an abrupt halt at that moment in time I am unable to confirm or deny this claim. If he is correct - which he normally is- I would suggest it was a case of swings and roundabouts.

Kudos to Alexander though who made save after incredible save to keep us in the game AGAIN.

Derby day results are so hard to predict, the normal rules of football just don't apply. Each team will relish the point earned, with ours returning us to fourth place and their's moving them a little closer to the rest of the relegation strugglers.

Now we can get back to concentrating on the Championship and focusing on tomorrow night's game against Sheffield United. Even my Kev, a lifelong Blade, reckons we are set to win that.

Could this finally be our first away win?

Ten in a row, fourth in the league!

2007-10-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Town's defeat of Wolves on Saturday was quite honestly the best game of the season so far.

Three wonderfully taken goals and a clean sheet summed up perfectly an afternoon which saw us climb to fourth in the Championship.

Wolves could have taken the game in the first five minutes when a penalty was awarded for a foul by Neil Alexander.

Alexander told the East Anglian Daily Times: 'I had to go for the ball and I did touch the lad, so i didn't have any complaints over the penalty'.

Wolves' failure to convert the penalty gave The Blues a confidence boost - just as it had when Colchester made the same mistake. Whilst Wolves had played some nice football for the first half hour, Town were finally able to take control of the game.

Alan Lee looked to have taken the ball too far into the box but slotted it past the keeper calmly. The goal was timed perfectly by allowing Town to go into the break 1:0 up.

He later told BBC Suffolk that he believed the team should now be looking to move to second in the table. A little ambitiuos for my liking but aim for the stars and you'll reach the sky I guess!

Pablo also looked to have taken the ball too far on his own with Clarke to his left providing a more than viable option for a pass. But cleverly, if a little arrogantly, he side stepped two defenders and the keeper to put Town 2:0 up.

Jim Magilton told the Ipswich Town website: 'Alan's goal was a terrific finish and the first goal was always going to be crucial. Pablo showed great strength to get the second and that gave us the breathing space we needed'.

Haynes showed a touch of class too - so much so that his goal was featured in the early highlights of the Championship on Sunday morning!

Being the kind person that I am I will not mention the league position of our friends in Naaarfalk - I guess it must be hard enough for them, wayching us from such a long way behind!

Legwinksi goal should have ended away day blues

2007-10-21T03:39:00.000-07:00

Sylvain Legwinski showed his team mates how it's done with the best strike of the game to put Ipswich Town ahead on 53 minutes.

His pinpoint volley from a Garvan throw in slipped inside the top right hand corner of the QPR goal and we really thought our poor away record had come to an end.

The first half had been a poor show from the Tractor Boys, QPR prevented us from playing our best passing game and no clearcut chances were created. Magilton moved himself from the dugout, to jump around at the edge of the technical box. I was glad I wasn't in the changing room at half time.

The second half saw much better football but a number of well created chances went without the end result of a goal. The play did eventually lead to the Legwinski goal, though.

The QPR goal seemed to come from nowhere; against the run of play, Nygaard had made his way through our defence and finished well. De Vos and co. looked gutted and angry with the officials, though I'm still not entirely sure why!

Town would have deserved three points had they taken advantage of the huge number of chances that came up.

Lee found the ball just a little out of reach on a couple of occasions, De Vos rose above the QPR defence to see his header go inches wide of the post, and Clarke pleaded to the heavens as shot after shot was too high, too low, or just completely miss hit.

Danny Haynes brought a new energy to the front line after he swapped places with Clarke on 80 minutes. A beautiful cross form Gary Roberts found Haynes but the striker couldn't get enough power on the ball to see it past the QPR keeper.

The mood of the Town fans after the game might have suggested we had been defeated, but a draw just did not seem enough. The disappointment was briefly lifted with the news of another home defeat for Naaaarwich and thoughts were turned to the derby in two weeks.

The coming week sees two home matches, against Colchester and Wolves, and there is a small hope that we will be 6 points better off afterwards. But thoughts are already turning to the local derby.

The one thing that got me through yesterday was the possiblity that our first away win of the season could be Carrow Road... dare i jinx it?!

Should we be getting our hopes up?

2007-10-18T14:47:00.001-07:00

Queens Park Rangers are bottom of the league and Town are looking for their first away win of the season... maybe just maybe this will be the turning point for our boys in the road.

Captain Jason De Vos has overcome a knee injury, Tommy Miller will play his 150th game for Town and fellow midfielder Sylvain Legwinski is expected to return to the team as a result of his good performance against Burnley.

Add to that the fact that our last visit to Shepherd's Bush provided us with the first away win of the season, many would back us for a win.

Jim Magilton has spoken of his belief in our ability to move into the play-off positions within the next few games.

Mathematically we could do so next Saturday with a win at Loftus Road and a continuation of our home form against Colchester and Wolves.

But you know town, they like to do things the hard way and I for one am determined to remain pessimistic, I REALLY don't want to jinx us this year.

As Jim said 'I dream about us being in the top six, I wouldn't be happy if my players were dreaming about it, but I allow myself to'.

Home form continues without me!

2007-10-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

'Easier than the score suggests' my Dad said to me after the game.
His opinion has been reflected across the media, another fantastic home performance:
Ipswich Town: 2, Preston North End: 1.
The EADT's Derek Davis complimented no less than eight players during his report, a good sign that the team is playing well together.
Most notably all of our attacking players have been complimented by boss, Jim Magilton.
The boss was pleased Lee has added to his goal run, with a headed goal from about a foot off the floor!
He feels Pablo Umbongo's (nickname awarded by my boyfriend who kindly endured the Palace match with me!) skill is causing trouble for defences across the league.
Unfortunately the striker has been warned for 'card waving', but I believe this is a trait which alot of fans find endearing, not least amusing.
My man Walters has been singled out again as having a big impact on the game. One to watch that one.
And it is good to see Billy Clarke not only getting on the first team, but being a key player in the majority of our moves.
As for their penalty: seems a shame to have lost a clean sheet for a foul that nobody seem to be able to pinpoint - Was it Wright, was it Alexander, was it a slightly long blade of grass that tripped him up???
I only wish I had been there to see it... a sentiment I'm sure is reflected by the people who left huge gaps in the usually packed North Stand.
Looking forward to visiting Loftus Road in 10 days, perhaps a chance to improve on that away record?
Although for keeping Naaaarwich in the relegation zone I almost feel like letting them have a point anyway!
My friend Ibs was at the match, his blog has had me thoroughly amused for the last ten minutes and will do so for days. Although I must apologise for his mispelling of Naaaaarwich.

No comment...

2007-09-30T03:59:00.000-07:00

Due to the dismal performance yesterday I will be unable to comment on the disappointing result against Hull City. At least until I have figured out how to put my anger into words that I am allowed to publish...!

Tigers look forward to 'attractive football'.

2007-09-29T04:26:00.001-07:00

Hull City manager Phil Brown, has told his team to expect an attractive game of football from Ipswich Town today.
The Tigers will enter the game with a degree of confidence following a good performance against Chelsea during the week, despite loosing 4-0.
Dean Windass will return after a two game absence due to injury. The forward scored twice against us when we played there last year.
Although I should add we did win that game 5-2!
However, Town's superb result against Coventry along with the burning desire to improve our away record should lead to an equal level of confidence in our camp.
Defender David Wright is a possible doubt, with an infected blister on his heel - ew!!
I'm always worried when we have to change the defence around because I feel consistency is important for them.
On a lighter note Danny Haynes will be back, so he can put pressure on their defence with his speed.
Jim Magilton seems to disagree with my worries about the changed kick off time though: He told the club website; 'we will be prepared correctly as we always are and will deal with the start time in a professional manner'. Good to know Jim!
Good luck to the boys, and of course to those of you who got up in the early hours of this morning to travel up north... wish I was there...!!!

Delia's a Muppet...

2007-09-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just had this short video e-mailed to me from YouTube. It tickled me greatly!
As an Ipswich Town fan I can't sympathise enough with asking why I put myself through the pain and frustration that we experience.
But then I wouldn't be totally opposed to The Canaries being frustrated for a little while longer...!

Loosing the faith?

2007-09-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

The attendance for Ipswich Town's impressive victory over Coventry was just 18,840, the lowest since March 2000 - when the stadium had a vastly smaller capacity.
As a season ticket holder, my pet peeve was the 'part-timers' that graced us with their presence for Town's bigger matches.
Unfortunately travelling up from London has proved to be too expensive on a student budget, so I am joining the ranks of my least favourite people.
However, I am beginning to understand the idea of having to choose one or two games a month to go to.
Coventry at home would not have been one that jumped out at me at the beginning of the season and with it being on Sky I decided to watch it from the comfort of the pub.
However, it seems a little telling that the lowest attendance of the season so far follows two defeats away from home.
Are there two many fickle fans loosing faith already this season?
Super Jim Magilton told the East Anglian Daily Times yesterday that he believes it is his duty to bring the fans back by winning the games.
But after seven straight home victories shouldn't we be showing him more confidence?
Would love to hear people's opinions...

Early kick-off

2007-09-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ipswich Town's season so far seems to have been plagued by the rearranging of kick-off times.
Recently, the bringing forward of the Hull City kick off to 12:30pm has affected a number of travelling Blues fans.
To those of you who are making the effort to visit the delights (!) of Hull: Good on you. Its an arduous enough journey from East Anglia, without having people fiddling about with your travel times.
As part of his new regime Jim brought in the idea of pre-match training/ warming up sessions to allow the players to prepare physically and mentally for the game ahead. If we loose the pattern of 3 o clock starts - we equally loose the pattern of psyching ourselves up for the game. Perhaps this suggests why our away form has not been what it should be - a disruption to the pattern.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has been affected by this, in particular how the club's promise to refund train fares is being fulfilled.

Of course, I wouldn't mind all of this if it was for Sky, at least I'd be able to watch my boys, but when its for the flipping rugby I can't help but feel a bit miffed!

Welcome to my world!

2007-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Amy Downes. I am studying Postgraduate Journalism at Westminster University, for which I am currently exploring Web design. It has given me the opportunity to finally begin my own Blog.
I am a life-long Ipswich Town fan - for my sins - and have been going to watch them play for over 13 years!
I spend every minute of my life thinking and talking about them so I figured this blog would be an ideal opportunity to write about them too.
I'll be keeping you updated with the latest news from the Super Blues and comments on my travels to see them play.
Would love to hear from fellow Tractor Boys and Girls so please feel free to comment on my posts.
Click here to see the greatest moment of my life - if it sends shivers up your spine, you're in the right place!