Town's trip to Middlesbrough earns another surprise point

Ipswich Town's travels during April have brought with them an element of unexpected success. Having earned a point away to play off hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday, Town were to repeat that achievement during their visit to the Riverside this weekend.

A long time ago, I made the decision not to attend the game myself. If I'm being honest, I expected defeat to be a sure thing as we faced a Middlesbrough side who have looked very strong this season.


However, fellow Town fan Maciej Chmielewski did make the trip, as he does the vast majority of Town's away games, particularly those based up here in the north. Maciej has kindly sent over a report of his view of the game:

"Saturday looked set to be the continuation of our recent malaise and the doom and gloom got even bigger when the starting line-up was released:  I was asking myself: 'What am I doing here? I might be better off going back home'.


I worried for young defender Paul Digby [who was making his first start for Ipswich], because he would be a very inexperienced centre back playing against the strong attack of Middlesbrough. I worried about the two defensive minded midfielders of Cole Skuse and Luke Hyam, because it would mean our attacking options would be limited. I was wondering: 'What's the point of that? We have nothing to lose, why not be brave and try to be adventurous?' 

The first five minutes were promising as we were virtually all in their half, we even had a shot on target from David McGoldrick, albeit one that was easy to save. But it was only for the first few minutes of play, after that we were on the back foot for the entire first half. A combination of Bart Bialkowski's fine saves, Boro wasting their chances, and pure luck meant the first half ended goalless.
 

We had literally nothing to offer up front, it was like awaiting execution and there is not much to report from the first 45 minutes. Bialkowski parried away Stewart Downing's shot and also won a one-on-one situation with former Town youngster Jordan Rhodes, the latter having lots of time to choose his shooting option but failing to take one. Digby blocked Emilio Nsue's shot, Albert Adomah wasted a glorious chance, the diving idiot Rhodes fell down as if he'd been shot and pathetically waved to the ref afterwards. Their first goal was only a matter of time. 


Adomah caused us lots of problems on his side, keeping Jonas Knudsen really busy dealing with that, I dare say that if Adomah had been facing Luke Chambers it would have been far more fruitful for them. As for Chambers, once again he was poor: his ball distribution was pathetic, even simple passes to Liam Feeney were beyond his abilities. 

Meanwhile Digby was fine, but looked shy and too scared to make a mistake. 


There was absolutely nothing in the centre of our midfield. We were flattered not to have been losing at half time. Very, very slow and sluggish. There was one surprising decision from Mick, he played Hyam in an advanced role that was to be close to their box, with Bru playing behind him. Perhaps this was Mick's 'end-of-season experiment', however it didn't turn out to be anything special. 


I guess Mick must have either reprimanded or encouraged players in the dressing room, as we looked significantly better from the beginning of the second half. Not only were the first few minutes promising, but this time that was the case for almost the whole of the remainder of the match.


We had been on the back foot in the first half, but after the break we restricted them and limited their chances on goal. Yes, Middlesbrough had more possession but they somehow lacked any ideas for breaking us down. Bialkowski was finally beaten by Rhodes, but the ball bounced off the post, while David Nugent also wasted a header a couple of minutes from time. That was all they had to offer.
 

Ipswich were far more encouraging, there were a few attempts to create quick counter attacks from Feeney on the right wing and Freddie Sears on the left. Given how slow we generally are in the midfield, these moves were impressively quick. We may have failed to test Boro keeper Konstantopoulos properly, but we kept their defence on their toes.


I think there were two things preventing us from grabbing the win: First, the lack of killer passes, particularly from Sears. We were fine until we approached their box, but from that point we lacked a final idea and there were a couple of moments where a killer cross from Sears would have made all the difference. His wastefulness was annoying, but on the other hand his proper role is receiving balls, not delivering them. 


Secondly, there was the lack of support from central midfield. Grant Leadbitter, who himself didn't have an exceptional afternoon for Middlesbrough, would still have made a big difference in our midfield. We miss the ilk of a player like him and I don't know why he was booed by a few Town fans today. 

For us, McGoldrick was the best player: dear, oh dear, how badly did we miss him this season? He has a very strong tendency to keep the ball on the deck and dribble with it, he also had a fine moment when he went past three defenders but was left with no space to either shoot or pass the ball.










It really was a fine effort from him and, for me, he was our man of the match, alongside Bialkowski. When he operates with the ball, you always have a hope that he can produce something out of the blue. As well as this, Tommy Smith, who had a horrid time at Riverside last season when we lost 1-4, was very assured. He is a different player to the one who was embarrassed by Bamford 13 months ago. 
Meanwhile, Teddy Bishop's late introduction turned out to be positive as his effort was decent, he was hungry for every ball and showed good off-the-ball movement. 

The final result may not be a fair reflection of the game: 1-0 to Middlesbrough would have been more true given their first half domination but we certainly deserved something for the second half display. There are umpteen Town fans who are obsessed about the style in which we gain the points so they should know that hoof-ball wasn't our domain this weekend. A bit of hoof-ball, a bit of football on the deck, a bit of everything. 


Also loads of Town supporters have been very critical of the team and Mick lately, but we can't be critical after Saturday. I'm not happy myself with some issues particularly Evans' transfer policy and some of Mick's team decisions, but the team deserves praise for the courage they have shown in the second half. Of course, not everything was perfect, but certainly better than some recent performances. 


I admit to being a bit greedy in the second half when I saw how much we had improved. A smash-and-grab win would somewhat have been a little payback for Bosko Jankovic, but it ended how it ended. A point that had looked unlikely prior to the game and during the first half. 

With a fully fit McGoldrick and Bishop next season and a little bit of financial help from Evans (we need a ball operator in central midfield and a couple of wingers) we may successfully challenge for promotion."


Thank you ever so much to Maciej for the insightful report and to Jackie who once again provided the match-day photos. I am sadly missing our final home game of the season next Saturday, so if you'd like to let us know how the day goes please do get in touch via Twitter @tractorgirlamy8

Dozzell Dazzles a shocked Sheffield Wednesday

In 1984, the year I was born, an Ipswich Town legend began. At the tender age of 16, Jason Dozzell, who went on to make 348 appearances for the club, made his debut and became the youngest player to score in the English top flight (a record he still holds today).

In 2016, the year my own child is due to be born, history has repeated itself. Also at the tender age of 16, Jason's son Andre scored for his Dad's former club - rescuing a point in their game away at Sheffield Wednesday.

Speaking to my Dad in our traditional post-match debrief, I asked if he remembered the day Jason had scored and if there was much excitement around it. "Oh yes, there was a lot of fuss. There were cameras and even TV crews outside Chantry High School, everyone was very pleased'.

I wonder how many times Jason has rerun that first game in his head this week? How amazing it must feel to know his own son now has those same memories to look back on. How amazing it must have been for him to be in the stands to see Andre score for the club with which he has such a long-standing relationship.



A clearly emotional Dozzell, captured by @tractorgirl49, during the celebrations for Town's equaliser.

Such a lovely story has, of course, earned the attention of the media and I'm chuffed to have been there to witness it in person. It's all very exciting, but it's important to focus on what happens next for the youngster.

Interested in Jason's climb to success, I asked my Dad how he had performed in the games following his debut. 'I don't think he walked straight into the first team after that, but he made three or four more appearances that season. Ipswich were about to be in a relegation battle, so for the final ten games he was left out and, of course, we survived'.

There is a fear that Andre, and other youngsters like him, will be left on the sidelines as McCarthy prefers to opt for older, more experienced players. Fans, understandably, don't want to see the youngster dropped from the team now as they would view it as a step backwards for the youth players. I'm inclined to argue that McCarthy should not feel pushed into bringing Andre into the first team if it is too soon.

As much as I enjoyed seeing him play on Saturday, he did look a little overwhelmed when he came on at the start of the second half. That's not a criticism of course, it's a huge step up to the first team and will take some time, I just hope the expectations of the fans doesn't add too much pressure to that.




Picture captured by @tractorgirl49

With all the excitement around that special moment, you'd be forgiven for thinking that that was the only significant point of the game. From a Town point of view, you'd be right, not a lot else happened.

We started the game fairly brightly, with the kind of passing football that I haven't seen in any of our games since the start of 2016. The play resulted in a chance for Freddie Sears at the other end of the pitch to our away stand, but there were few other real chances. I was enjoying the football, possibly for the first time since Rotherham, but sadly that was short lived.

As the game settled, we sat further and further back in our own half, inviting pressure from a Wednesday side that currently sit comfortably in the play off places. There were several chances for the home side: with the ball looking like it crossed the line in one goal mouth scramble, only for Bart to save it/swiftly pop it back on the right side of the goal line. A couple of defensive errors later and Town found themselves a goal down as the game reached half time.

As a friend of mine tweeted during the break: 'We looked alright in patches, but forgot what football was in others'.

The second half continued in much the same way, with the Owls having the run of the ball and our defence was looking slowly more nervous. I wrote after the Brentford game about the lack of confidence our players are experiencing at the moment and this was on show once again on Saturday. Town should have been two goals behind but an excellent stop from Bart to deny Forestieri kept them in the game.

At the other end of the pitch, there were some chances for Town, though few and far between. I would say that all of our attacking moves revolved around David McGoldrick and Liam Feeney: their nice, passing football allowed us to turn Wednesday into the nervous side for short periods of time.

Liam Feeney and Luke Chambers gear up for the second half, captured by @tractorgirl49

 

Feeney, my man of the match, was key to the far more forward-playing approach that was on show, the issue being that he was often left to deal with the ball on his own. As soon as he had the ball at his feet, Sears and McGoldrick seemed to disappear off towards the goal rather than providing options to take Feeney and the ball with them. All too often, Feeney had to face the Wednesday defenders with little or no support. Bru should be given credit for the support he did offer, as well as Knudsen, but that generally lead to very little because the strikers had gone out of reach.

That said, I was impressed by the way Didzy and Feeney played together, as I had been for the final fifteen minutes of Town's game against Brentford last week, and was pleased to see them given a full match together this weekend. This also improved somewhat with the addition of Dozzell, who joined with Didzy and Feeney to create some nice moments of play during the second half. This was never more evident of course than in Feeney's assist for the goal, which Andre coolly slotted into the net right in front of the relieved and ecstatic Town fans.

I will keep saying it but it was such a special moment, as I don't think the travelling Tractorboys and girls had expected anything less than a defeat on their visit to Hillsborough.

Picture captured by @tractorgirl49

It has always been a nice away day, a stadium with such history in a city where there is so much to see and so many places to drink will always create a nice day out and a happy atmosphere.

In stark contrast to the quiet experience of the home fans last week, this crowd seemed determined to enjoy themselves watching their team play. The criticisms of the current team performances were still there, of course, but it was done with humour and a little sarcasm.

For the first time in a long time, I have experienced a Town game where there was no pressure or worry, little anger at the mistakes made and certainly no 'booing' the players. Instead, fans joined together in giggly renditions of old chants that once were heard in the stands of the Premier League Ipswich: Finidi George, Herman Hreidarsson and Jim Magilton were among the stars being given the nod (I defy you not to smile at the thought of the Finidi George on his big tractor).

During the second half, helped no doubt by the half time beers, the mood lifted even further as the performance on the pitch looked less and less likely to give us anything to cheer about. It built to a sarcastic chorus of 'let's pretend we scored a goal', followed by the fans in the way stand erupting in unison to celebrate a goal that, honestly, I don't think any of us thought was coming.

Luckily, Andre proved us wrong providing a much deserved reward for the away support who hadn't stopped making noise for most of the game. You could tell this was a special moment for them as much as it was for Jason and Andre. The young lad has been talked about for many weeks and there was a huge cheer when he came onto the pitch; even before the goal he had become a favourite for the fans.

An instant hero captured by @tractorgirl49

It was a shame, then, that the mood was somewhat dampened by the behaviour of another of our players in the dying moments of the game.

In what was literally the final move of injury time, Knudsen had possession of the ball on the left hand side, with an unmarked Brett Pitman running towards the right of the goal. Knudsen took a shot, which went just wide of the post, leaving Pitman absolutely fuming.

 I can understand his frustration, this was a golden opportunity for Town to steal all three points and renew a tiny bit of light for their play-off hopes. Some say his angry reaction to Knudsen's failure to pass to him was passionate and justified, but I'm afraid I just can't see it that way.

Pitman followed his teammate down the pitch, gesturing wildly. Knudsen appeared, to me, to raise his hand in apology, but this did not calm the striker. Instead, McGoldrick was forced to intervene, followed by Terry Connor before, as far as I could see, Brett left the pitch without acknowledging any other players.

Pitman is calmed at full time by Terry Connor, while McCarthy shakes the hand of young defender Digby,
picture captured by @tractorgirl49

For me, it's inexcusable, it's unprofessional and it just isn't good enough; I don't want to see any of our players behaving like that while representing our club. If I had behaved like that while working for my former employer (and believe me, there were times where my colleagues had wound me up just as much), I would have certainly found myself being disciplined.

There doesn't seem to have been too much of a response from the club regarding the incident, so one can only assume that Mick has dealt with it using his vast man management experience. I'd like to think Brett will have apologised to Jonas once he had calmed down, but I would not be happy to see him behave like that again, towards team mates, opposition players, managers and officials alike.

With time for that game to sink in, I'm pleased that the thing that stands out in my mind was the unity and excitement of seeing one of our own young players score a goal on his debut.

My Dad sent me a text at full time which read: 'You were there to see it, no one can take that away from you now'.

How true, history was made and I was there to see it. How exciting it is to think of the future special moments that young boy could bring to our club.

Fingers crossed.

 

Having enjoyed a rare two consecutive games watching Town from the stands, I know take a rest from travelling to support the boys until the final game of the season at Derby. If you fancy having a go at writing a match report, do get in touch. I know lots of Town fans who'd be eager to hear your thoughts, not just me!

 

Hyam's head was gone against Brentford, but he wasn't alone

Almost a year ago, Ipswich Town's season was essentially ended when defender Christophe Berra earned a red card in the second leg of the play off finals against Norwich.




It's somewhat fitting then, that their following season should also be essentially ended with a red card. However, the circumstances they find themselves in 11 months later are very different.




When Luke Hyam's angry reaction to a nasty tackle by Brentford midfielder Ryan Woods earned him an early bath, it seemed a feeling of inevitability seeped in at Portman Road. With ten men, fans could only assume this match was going to end in defeat for Town.




I, personally, had no qualms with the red card itself: Hyam was on a warning and should have known better than to allow himself to react in the way he did. The first challenge, however, was the subject of much debate which lead to criticism of Hyam by Brentford staff and (a minority of) Ipswich fans.



At the time, I had a fairly good view of the tackle which left Alan Judge with a broken leg and felt it was firm but fair. As Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy told the press after the game: "I don’t think it is [a naughty tackle]. I think he’s won the ball. I’ve actually complained to the referee as to why it’s a booking if he’s won the ball."


McCarthy went on to explain that Hyam was devastated about the tackle and, for me, that shows there was no intent to harm. Luke has told the club website he'd like to apologise to Judge himself, saying 'I feel distraught over it. It was distressing to see and definitely affected me... I've been out injured for a year myself and the last thing I want to see is a fellow pro getting injured like that'.

That's one view of the incident, of course, and the Brentford media have portrayed a very different one: 'Ipswich man's horror tackle' was the headline from Get West London, who claimed Judge's broken leg was suffered 'after a wild and reckless challenge from Luke Hyam two minutes into the contest'.

In that same article, Brentford's Alan McCormack admits that he and Woods targeted Hyam for the remainder of the first half: “Everyone was very annoyed with the player... our players could have got into trouble as they wanted to look after Judgey and make sure that it's not forgotten. I'm not saying revenge is sweet but it might be for the best he wasn't on the pitch too much longer.”


The latest news on Judge is that he has undergone surgery on his leg and Brentford expect him to make a full recovery. It'll be a huge setback though, especially as he will now miss the opportunity to play in the Euros, so I'm sure we all wish him a speedy recovery.




From a Town point of view, this injury will have had a huge affect on Hyam. How he, and indeed the whole team, have handled the comments and press attention this week will be really important.




The affect of the injury though was already being felt during the game on Saturday. Despite it taking place so early on, I think it shaped the game. 




McCormack's rather unprofessional comments after the game are evidence that, following Judge's injury, Brentford set their sights on Hyam. That resulted, of course, in Woods' nasty tackle and Hyam's sending off. From there I couldn't help but feel a heavy defeat was on the cards, the subdued atmosphere under the stands at half time suggested I wasn't alone in that feeling.



Sometimes a red card can actually lead to a more determined performance from the side; players rearrange themselves quickly to cover and, knowing they are at a disadvantage to their opponents, they step up their efforts.




We've seen this from Town a few times in recent years, that red card against Norwich being a good example. Despite being a man down, we held our own and I think the players did themselves proud that day. It was very different circumstances, of course, with a lot more riding on the result, but it showed it could be done and, in the end, the hard graft in Town succumbed to little more than the amount of money on display in the City side. (In my completely unbiased opinion!)




It's strange to think that in a matter of months we have gone from a side that showed some element of fight to a team that seemed to be truly lacking something.


Did we lack quality? Possibly, but that was true of both sides. It's amazing to think last year this would have been a game between two play off sides: neither looked good enough for them on Saturday. So I don't think it was lack of quality that caused the defeat.



Nor was it effort, the suggestion that our players don't put in the effort required to win matches really makes me quite angry. Gone are the days of Paul Jewell, when players played for themselves and not the club. Gone, too, are the days of Keane when any passion was extinguished by poor man management. Claiming this team demonstrates those same attributes, after the passion they have shown to turn our fortunes around during the last three years, is an insult. So no, it wasn't lack of effort that caused the defeat.


What I believe caused it was the lack of confidence: players, fans and manager alike. Hyam has admitted that his 'head had gone' after the incident, but I wonder if them same could be said for his colleagues too? Their confidence and focus had gone, perhaps even before the game.

It's clearly a result of the recent bad run of performances and mounting pressure as the play offs slip further from our hands. I guess the sending off was the final obstacle between us and the top six and we just don't have the get up and go this year to get past that.


So who is to blame for that lack of confidence? Those of you who know me will know I often point to the effect the mood of the fans can have on performances (and I stand by that view), but I don't think that was the cause this weekend.


Following recent reports of fans 'booing' the players during and after the game, Jonathan Douglas in particular, I'd expected to feel frustrated at hearing this on my latest visit to Portman Road. But, truthfully, it wasn't all that bad.


When his name was read out from the team sheet at the start of the match, I heard a distinct 'boo' from the lower tier of the Sir Bobby Robson stand and, in my opinion, that's really despicable. He'd been dropped from the first team as so many fans had been calling for in recent weeks - what more do they want? More importantly though, I don't understand how any 'fan' can be so nasty to their own player. Odd people.



As I say though, that was the only real negativity I heard on the day. For the most part all I heard was, as had been described to me on Twitter, collective sounds of frustration from the long suffering Town faithful.  I have to confess, I caught myself a number of times groaning 'argh, sort it out Town'.

The frustration is understandable and, actually, there were some nice moments of support that made me smile, knowing the 'old faithful' will always be there for their Town. It wasn't the goose-bump inducing, roaring atmosphere that it was this time last year, but it was nice nonetheless.

If the fans aren't to blame for the recent drop in confidence is the manager? Well, yes, Mick does need to take responsibility for it.

He makes the decisions on which players are named in the team, he instructs them on the style of play they should adopt and, ultimately, it is his job to inspire the players to be the best they can be. They aren't cutting it at the moment and he should be doing his best to sort that.

But do I blame him for the fact that Town now look extremely unlikely to make the play offs? No, not really.

So many factors have played a part this year in our lack of success compared to last year: injuries, lack of spending, other teams around us spending, some really late goals... the list goes on. Mick's decisions are undoubtedly one of those factors, but I can't bring myself to blame him or feel angry with him. He has proven success at this level, he has worked miracles at Town and he's a very honest and open manager. I like him, a lot.

Saturday, for me, was the end of the season, the day the final specks of hope that we might still make the play offs bit the dust and, honestly, I wasn't all that sad. I've accepted our fate with ease and perhaps even a guilty sense of relief that I won't be needing to find the energy and cash required to get through the play offs again this year.

Now that it's done I guess it's time to see the season out and look to the summer.

We go again.

Short lived celebrations in Huddersfield as Town 'stop the rot'

On Saturday, I headed to Huddersfield fully expecting to see Ipswich lose. It's an occupational hazard when you are a Town fan.

Town had lost four of their last five games (five from six if you include the cup exit at Portsmouth), a poor run of form that has seen a large number of fans and even boss Mick McCarthy fearing 'our play off hopes are slipping away'. Add to that the memory of a disappointing defeat last season at the John Smith's stadium that saw our hopes for promotion very nearly crushed and you can see why a defeat felt inevitable to me.

So, to be honest, I felt a little numb heading to catch the train back to Leeds after the game: I hadn't been at all prepared for the joy of seeing my fourth away win of the season and, of course, the famous Luke Chambers' fist pump.

I think I was in shock. Sadly this wasn't because we'd performed like a promotion chasing side, scoring with ease and playing our opponents off the field. The shock was simply because the previous visit to Huddersfield had been such a terrible experience and, in recent weeks, us Town fans have become rather accustomed to expecting the worst.

You might think then that our loyal supporters would be over the moon with the three points, particularly as the match had been billed by so many as 'must win' (even at this early point in the season). Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I felt a little deflated when I found that even before I had returned home a number of social media users seemed to be belittling the performance already, angry that we hadn't produced a Barcelona-esque performance in this vital Championship tie.

I exaggerate, of course, but it was disappointing and the low mood seems to have continued among a few during the following days as well.  I mean, come on, are we not allowed at least a 24 hour period to bask in the enjoyment of a victory before we are forced back to earth with the reality of the precarious position we find ourselves in?

I ask myself, why are some of our fans feeling this way? Why would you not just be happy with three points away from home to 'stop the rot' of the recent bad form?

Well, they can't really be blamed, it wasn't the greatest game of football I've ever seen. The match report stats speak for themselves:

Shots on goal: Huddersfield - 22, Ipswich - 6
Shots on target: Huddersfield - 5, Ipswich - 1
Possession: Huddersfield - 67%, Ipswich - 33%

Viewed in that format, the lack of shots on goal is really worrying and adds to a trend that we have seen in recent matches: against Hull we had not one shot on target (although Daryl Murphy did hit the inside of the post).

We seemed to struggle going forward, that much is clear from the numbers, and, in the first half at least, I personally felt the defence allowed Huddersfield to come too far forward before making any challenges.

A nervy one goal lead was all we really deserved and for the duration of the second half you could sense that the away end were expecting an equaliser at any moment.

But that equaliser didn't come. We defended confidently and, despite the lack of activity going forward, I did feel we looked the stronger side. It seems to have been easy for some to overlook these points, as well as the fact there were some very good individual performances:

Murphy's assist for the goal was fantastic, beautifully taken and controlled with a pinpoint pass to Pringle for the winner. It was testament to how much of an influcence he was on the game and it was the first time I have seen him play that well so far this season (with the exception of Rotherham and Charlton, where he was phenomenal). Hopefully this is something that he can now keep up, too often I've seen comments that he has been invisible in our matches and he clearly hasn't hit the form we so adored last year.


Bialkowski once again turned in a performance that looks set to see him named as Town's 'Player of the month' for February. Bart kept us in the game, something that has become a habit since his return to the side, with some heart-stopping saves. Early in the first half, he faced strongly into a one-on-one situation with Nakhi Wells and stopped the shot with his legs, what a very different game it might have been without his input.

Though I'm happy to see such great performances from our big Pole in the goal, I'm concerned by how often we seem to be saying 'the keeper saved our skin today', with Gerken in previous games as much as with Bart this month. What has happened to the solid defence that we had last season?

On Saturday, Berra was okay for the most part but made some terrible errors when clearing the ball and I felt Knudsen stepped in to save him a few times. Smith made no obvious errors during the game but he was perhaps a little too quiet for my liking, while a Chambers error just in front of the goal late in the second half had my hands covering my eyes.

However, Knudsen had the best game I have seen him play in a Town shirt so far. Strong on the left and stepping in with confidence when needed to clear the ball, he still has a tendency to 'hoof' the ball far and high up the wing, whether there is a player there to collect it or not. But he was hard working and reliable, the pure passion on his face as the referee blew his whistle in the 95th minute was clear to see, something that has certainly endeared me to him. I know you can't win games on passion alone, but I do believe you should be grateful when you can see that it is so very clearly there.

Such passion, of course, could also be seen among over 900 fans in the away end. The final ten minutes were a familiar slog of nerves, with half an eye on the clock counting down behind us.

As we neared the final whistle, a repeated round of 'Singing the Blues' roused the crowd to see the boys safely past that final whistle with three points in the bag. It was one of those moments that make me proud to be an Ipswich fan and will be firmly placed in my bank of away day memories.

Pure relief followed at the final whistle and a somewhat subdued fist pump due to the way in which we had managed victory. A friend said to me as we were leaving the stadium that he thought we had earned that win... 'but my god it was boring'. A perfect summary in my opinion: It wasn't pretty, but we achieved what we set out to do, probably more so, and you can't ask for more than that.

My friend's thoughts were echoed by a Huddersfield fan who I spoke to after that game. Understandably, he was disappointed that they had come away empty handed, but not a bad word was said about McCarthy's side. He told me he felt we had played intellegent football: 'you knew our weaknesses and you played to those'.According to him, the stronger side won in the end: it was a kinder report than I've heard from several Town fans since the end of the game and I'll happily take it.

No, we didn't play the prettiest of football.

Yes, we should be putting bottom half teams like Huddersfield in their place if we want to have a serious go at this promotion race.

But it was, after all, a win and three points. Three points that keep us well within the race for the play offs (particularly with Birmingham, Derby and Preston all losing).

All we can do is take one game at a time and that, my friends, means we achieved our goal for this weekend. Can we just be happy about that until the next one please?

Reading an all too familiar story at Portman Road

The fairy tale season for Ipswich Town has taken a further turn of worry this week, with the feeling of disappointment and slight despair becoming a little too familiar. We had become somewhat accustomed to the good run of form that saw us reach as high as second in the Championship on Boxing Day. But we were cautiously so because, as Ipswich fans, we're used to the nail biting twists a season inevitably brings. Still, before the game on Saturday my friends were saying to me, "maybe, just maybe Amy. This is our year". What I don’t understand, is why we appear to be such a different side to the squad that saw just two defeats in 22 games and only one home defeat since August? It’s virtually the same players, so what has changed for us to go from beating promotion favourites Boro, to losing to fourteenth placed Reading? Since the start of 2015, our results have been slipping and all too often we’ve come away from the match saying ‘it just wasn’t our day’ (I refer here specifically to Rotherham away and Reading at home). That’s all well and good, but how many times can we think that? Sometimes you just have to grab the royals by their crown jewels make it your day. So, what did go wrong on Saturday? In my humble opinion, a number of factors played a part: the first being was the absence of David McGoldrick. Whilst it's true he isn’t a prolific goal scorer, something we were warned about by Forest fans, he does have a huge influence on games. He controls the game in that final third by keeping the ball on the ground and passing it around cleverly to create chances. Without him, we seemingly had no control at that end of the pitch, no plan going forward. Balls were just 'hoofed' forward to Murphy, who was clearly clearly was experiencing a 'it just isn't my day' performance. This for me was the second factor which influenced our defeat, and will have been in no small part to the protective gear he was wearing on his face. Now, it would be pretty mean of me to not feel any sympathy for him with relation to the mask. I mean, the man was a hero last week playing on despite a broken nose during the match against Fulham. But, I felt it distracted him on Saturday by making him hold back and there's no point punting balls up front to someone who can't play for headers due to an injury and piece of kit he's not yet used to. He and Sears both missed clear cut chances early on, which might have changed the game completely - much like Daryl did at Rotherham. From another point of view though, credit needs to be paid to Reading for a strong defence that never really gave us the room to breathe. For the first half of the match they constantly had ten men defending in the box, preventing us from pulling back that one goal deficit. Mick McCarthy referred to them as parasites in his post match interview, for breeding off every mistake and sticking to us to stop us playing. But it's his job to make sure we're the ones controlling the game, not the opposition. Teams like Reading are increasingly showing they have worked out how to play against us, perhaps that is the difference between our team now and the one two months ago. We need a comeback, a plan B. And with that we come to the final factor that inifluenced our most recent defeat: the lack of confidence. The goal we conceded was poor and against the run of play, but it showed three defenders looking very frustrated with their keeper as he was perhaps a little slow to react to a shot from the lively Mackie. It was sad to see from a back four who had been so solid earlier in the season, when Luke Chambers was a regular in the centre. To my mind, Mick has two tasks ahead of the match against Birmingham: 1. To reintroduce Parr, who looked lively as a substitute on Saturday, and allow Chambers to return to the centre 2. To reinstill that confidence that saw is in a dream land of promotion parties and fist pumps Articles today suggest he will make more than one change due to the large number of games in the next two weeks. But those are the only two I ask for. Because, one thing's for sure, we head into tonight's match with one eye on Sunday - a win tonight would set us up nicely with the confidence needed for a derby say win, but a defeat would surely lead to the fourth defeat to our bitter rivals in a row. Enjoy the match if you're on your way and tweet my your thoughts at 9:30! @tractorgirlamy8

My China Town anniversary

It was a Friday evening, the day my life was changed forever.

On 5th August 1994, I vividly remember my Dad leading me by the hand down a dusty path surrounded by lots of men, all laughing and joking. It was only a small crowd that day (compared to the 20 thousand plus I would become used to at Portman Road), but the atmosphere felt exciting and I was instantly hooked.

That dusty pathway lead to the Abbey stadium, home to Cambridge United who were that night playing host to local top tier side Ipswich Town. Though I'd lived in Cambridge for two years and I was to grow up in the city, Ipswich was my home town and I had inherited the team from my Dad (despite his father being a Narwich City man). I'd seen my Dad head off to watch the Blues when I was younger, but today I was joining him for the first time.

My Mum has joked that she sometimes wishes she'd put her foot down and refused to let her daughter become part of that world. Some Saturdays I wish she hadto be honest, as the years that have passed since that first match have been filled with mixed emotions, but then I remember they have also given me some wonderful friends and great memories.

The result that night could not really have set me up much better for a lifetime of supporting Town: with Cambridge going one nil up inside the first five minutes, Simon Milton scored the equaliser on 6 minutes. I was so excited by the noisy start to the game.

The score remained the same until 45 minutes but soon after half time there was another goal - all around us fans in the family stand jumped up cheering and for a few moments I joined them, only to feel my Dad gently pulling me back down and explaining quietly it was Cambridge that had scored. The teams had swapped ends at half time and, being only 10, I hadn't understood that!

The game finished 3:1 and, as I say, was a good premonition of the ups and downs to come. The simple stands at the Abbey were a far cry from the glamour of the ties I would experience less than ten years later at Wembley and the San Siro, but to this day it is those smaller venues that I enjoy the most and I'm sure that has something to do with that first game that I loved so much.

When I look back, it's interesting to think that Ipswich Town has been the one of the most consistent things in my life. Friends, partners, cars and even homes have come and gone and I've grown up and moved on, learning from each. But, aside from my family, Town are the only thing that was there 20 years ago that I love just as much now and I still have to rely on today.

If I have a rubbish day, that football team are still there for me to immerse myself in and let those worries wash away for 90 minutes (even on the days when the football itself is just as rubbish). And often the good days I've had over the past two decades have been basically caused by that team: fantastic away days, a trip down with my Dad who I don't get to see so often nowadays and even part of a new tradition with my boyfriend of placing a bet on whose team will finish higher in the league at the start of each season - "we play for the pride", we told the bookies yesterday!

What's been the biggest learning curve for me is that, despite the loyalty for my beloved Ipswich never changing, the way in which I support them has. There was a day, in my over ten years as a season ticket holder, where I wouldn't have missed a home game and the thought of watching on television turned my stomach. Now, though there is still nothing better than the feeling of watching them live, I've learnt you have to enjoy supporting then in whatever way you can.

This season, I aim to actually go to around 7 or 8 games, one a month with the exception of August where I am on holiday and at the MotoGP. In years gone by I'd have scolded myself, but this year I know it is right for me and my personal life.

20 years on and I love the Town as much as I did at that first game.

I'm grateful to everyone who's been a part of the memories, both on and off the pitch, and to the people who have put up with my 20 year long obsession over my one true love - Ipswich Town.

I'm now off for a meal to celebrate my china anniversary with a lovely meal and a drink or two...

Can the Championship be 'easily navigated by throwing millions of quid at a club'

The Ipswich Town website currently display a SkyBet competition, fans can enter for the chance to win their club £250 thousand pounds to spend on transfers.

Whilst it isn't a vast amount of money,  you would need to win it 44 times to purchase stirker Ross McCormack for your team, it could go quite some way to boosting Mick McCarthy's apparent budget spend this summer.

Much has been said over recent years of Marcus Evan's lack of spending on the squad, particularly since McCarthy has taken over. With an approach of focusing on freebies and lower wages, it seems the club is being run in a very stringent way, too stringent some say. This last statement is something that amazes me, particularly considering the position we found ourselves in following relegation from the Premier League.

The title of this blog is a quote from a recent post on website TWTD, 'A Lack of Spending Will Curtail Progress', which I felt compelled to respond to. I know there are some around who would prefer to see us spend more money on transfers but, whilst I respect their opinion, I find the notion that not doing so will lead to an end to our progress far too simplistic. 'Money doesn't buy you happiness, as they say And, to take the argument further - do we even want it to be true that the only way to succeed in football is to have cash?

The catalyst for the article is the recent £11 million sale of big Ross McCormack from Leeds to Fulham. Whilst I think McCormack could be a great player at a club without the backstage dramas of his former team, I could never see this as a good deal nor one that leads the way for many more big buck purchases in our league.

No, £11 million for a player to move to a fellow Championship club is ridiculous. £11 million for a Championship club to pay for any player is ridiculous and surely only possible due to the parachute payment.

I'd be missing the point if I thought that was the full argument; the discussion itself is a comparison between that sale and Mick McCarthy's own recent declaration that he expects to be relying on freebies and loans again this year. It's a daunting prospect of course, but does it really spell the end to the progress we've seen in the past season?

The intended approach to strengthening our squad is no different to that of last summer. Mick McCarthy has built the current squad from out of contract or cheap players and those bargains took us to ninth place in the league last season and very close to the play off places. To my mind, there's no reason to assume the same cannot be true for this year.
Out of contract players or those demanding a low fee do not necessarily equate to dodgy or poor quality players. David McGoldrick and Luke Chambers (though admittedly the latter was purchased by Paul Jewell) were both straight from the bargain bucket and look what they have achieved at Portman Road so far, both regulars in the first team and McGoldrick, arguably, the most key player in our squad.

'McGoldrought', as he was less than affectionately known at his previous club Nottingham Forest, had been sent on loan and written off by fans as past his best. Meanwhile our fist pumping right back had also lost friends at the club as he became an on pitch scapegoat for the issues taking place off it. My point being, neither one cost £11 million - yet neither one will find it hard to make his way into our first team this year - we didn't need to spend money on them.

By the writer's own admission, 'Mick didn't have money to spend last season and has improved the club dramatically'. What is there to suggest spending money, a change in habit for us, would put a stop to the progress we have already made?

Outside of Suffolk, plenty of clubs have shown that large wallets do not equal instant success. Portsmouth are the best example of this, but QPR also show what a gamble it is to do that. It paid off for them, but it so very nearly didn't. As a neutral, I love to watch the play offs because they are so full of drama. But the reason for that is that they are so unreliable, they are one hell of a gamble for a club who risk going out of business should they fail. That unpredictability of the play offs is not a risk I would want to take with Town.

The article on TWTD points to recent clubs that have been promoted and claims that almost all of them have spent money to achieve this, but this statement is far too simplistic for me. Last year alone explains this a little further...

Following our match against Leicester City last season, where the soon to be promoted Foxes displayed the quality of football that would make them champions, I commented that the gap in quality most likely showed the gap in the value of each team. Very quickly I received a response from one of their fans pointing out that, actually, that spending had been in the years previous and the team playing that day had been with them some time.

I thought it was a valid point, cast your mind back to 2011, when Sven Goran Eriksson was at the healm and the club, spending hefty amounts of cash, seemingly believing this was the key to success. We riducled the fact that they didn't achieve automatic promotion and laughed at their failed attempt.

The truth is, that side did become the best in the league and probably would not have been had they not had the high budget to start with. But, they became what they did after two or three years of playing together and growing as a team and they deserve credit for that, not simply being written off as only being there as a result of the cash.

Fast forward to 2014 and the situation might have been different for the side, as the Financial Fair Play rules come in to play - and that's the situation we're in. Throw money at a team and you cannot guarantee they'll become Championship beaters in the first season, as shown by Leicester's long term development and QPR's gamble in the Play Offs. Fail in your mission and you risk huge fines and transfer embargoes, two things that absolutely would 'curtail Mick's progress'.

Aside from that, I always feel some fans are missing the point when it comes to FFP. The point for me is not about sticking to the rules for fear of the punishment, but because you know that running the club in this way is absolutely the right and sustainable way.

At over £80 million in debt, the option to speculate to accumulate simply isn't ours. Evans and McCarthy are right to take this approach, it may mean the goal takes a little longer to achieve but it certainly doesn't mean we won't get there at all.