1 Oct 2008
Not sure what to make of this one. We got a far more sensible team selection than Saturday, and for periods of the match we tried to pass the ball around, so a big improvement in Jim's performance, for sure. Individually, the players' performances were unremarkable, but they were definitely better than the sum of their parts. The defence still looks worryingly shaky at times (and yet, as ... More...
27 Sep 2008
Well, I'll say one thing for Jim, his recruitment policy, team selection and tactics are currently provoking more post-match discussion than I can recall having had for years. The simple and occasionally stylish display against Reading, and the semblance of a settled lineup over the past few league games, seemed to have arrested the declining support for his stewardship in the stands. But unfortunately, today's managerial display opened ... More...
13 Sep 2008
Generally, a significant progression in the team's performance, which will have settled a lot of jitters around the club, I should think. Now we take our rightful place alongside the mighty Doncaster in the table, and there may be better to come. Reading were a decent enough team, but we were well worth the win.
Both teams played the same sort of "pass-and-run it straight through the opposition" game: ... More...
26 Aug 2008
Right, this nonsense has to stop. Home defeats in the league, an away victory in the league, and most unlikely of all, two League Cup wins. This is not my Ipswich at all! Having missed the first three games of the season at FPR, I was anxious to get my fix at last, and intrigued to see what another Summer Of Change had brought us. Compared to last ... More...
23 Aug 2008
Brendan Holmes writes: Well beaten again at home. This time it was more that Wolves were too good than we were particularly poor, however it is worrying that we were found wanting against one of the teams we should be competing with for promotion. Eubanks-Blake's difficult header was a goal I don't think any of our strikers would have scored, and it was as much as Wolves deserved ... More...
9 Aug 2008
Stanway TractorBoy Snr writes:
With last season producing one of the best home records in our history, several new signings, lots of pre-season wins, a new owner, and a goal up within 2 minutes, this was going to be a stroll in the park. Wasn't it? Hmm, perhaps not.
In the first ten minutes, we created several good chances, Garvan was bossing the midfield, Lisbie and Haynes were making mazy ... More...
4 May 2008
Odd to leave the ground after a victory feeling rather deflated, while listening to the losers having a bit of a party. But good luck to Hull: in a season where their playoff opponents will be a horrible team (Watford), a "how on earth did they get there?" team (Palace) and a team with a disgraceful negative goal difference (Bristol), they're by far the best of an undeserving ... More...
13 Apr 2008
Well, the scoreline may have only been one goal better than Wednesday night, but the performance was in a totally different class. Indeed, if it wasn't for the problem which has characterised the whole season - our inability to actually stick the ball in the net - we would have won this four-, five- or six-one, and we'd have deserved it too. Norwich were awful, and we played ... More...
9 Apr 2008
As a home season ticket holder who hasn't been able to obtain the domestic pass-outs this season to be able to go to away games, I know I don't fully appreciate just how bad it's been for the away diehards this season. But I think I got a flavour of it in this match. To say we were rubbish was an understatement. The away regulars will nod sagely ... More...
30 Mar 2008
Two points well and truly down the drain. We had the chances to win this one comfortably, even ignoring the ref denying us a clear "over the line" effort and an even clearer penalty. If we don't make the playoffs, the big regrets this season will be the chances squandered, rather than (as has been normal over the past ten years), mistakes at the back. It's a long ... More...
15 Mar 2008
If anyone was wondering after the Barnsley debacle whether we're back to the old routine (invincible at home, awful away), the answer may well be that we are. Because this was a cracking display against a strong team let down only by their inability to create chances. Yet we controlled most of the game, missed several glorious chances, and looked comfortable even when Charlton had periods of pressure.
We ... More...
5 Mar 2008
My goodness, it was cold tonight. Still, with over twenty thousand in the ground and very mediocre opponents, Town really ought to have been able to have taken my mind off my freezing extremities. They didn't. Not even remotely. Jim said afterwards: "Overall it wasn't a game for the purists." I assume by 'purists' he means anyone who wants to see even a smattering of half-decent football. We ... More...
16 Feb 2008
This one couldn't have been any more comfortable if it had been given a pipe and slippers and offered the Parker-Knoll in front of a roaring fire. Apart from the last couple of minutes, of course, when it all went a bit silly. We could - and should - have had several more, against an ordinary team hampered by what seemed like their entire defence excusing themselves with ... More...
9 Feb 2008
No sooner does the away record go than - with crushing inevitability - the home one goes too. To be honest, I doubt it’ll do us too much harm to no longer be perceived as unbeatable at Portman Road - teams may come and try to play a bit more, at least. And it’s probably no disgrace to lose to what will surely prove to be the strongest ... More...
29 Jan 2008
A friend summarised this match as "odd" and in many ways, that was true. Plymouth rode their luck, but we were our own worst enemy. Over two dozen attempts on goal, sure, but only one or two required heroics from their keeper or defenders, and the two best saves of the game came from Alexander at the other end. The rest of our opportunities were just wasted. So ... More...