Why do we support Ipswich?

Putting the Judge affair to one side, mainly a contractual matter but also sadly underperformed albeit runs around the pitch and gives it his all.

My affair with Town began as a 10 year old on a wooden box in 1959. A Suffolk boy from near Halesworth, no-one in the family followed the game. That of course was the great Sir Alf era, Ray Crawford, Ted Phillips terrorised the top club defenses. Then the remarkable Robson era, did you know we took part in Europe for 10 years on the trot in the 1970's? And took on Inter MIlan & the mighty Real Madrid, and won!! One of my most memorbale games which brought tears to my eyes was returning from the Far East - I was an explorer - and witnessed Town put 4 past Liverpool at PR!

It was a well run club, the Cobbold family giving much to the community, wonderful Suffolk spirit, adoring fans and how the team entertained us. We were a world class act and my goodness how proud I felt at school being a Town fan. Fascinating fact - I dated Penny Cobbold, daughter of the chairman!

How times have changed. Will we ever see the likes of all this again? My hunch is we shall steady the ship in the Championship in 2023/24, get to the dizzy heights of the Premiership, and then settle for mid table. I doubt we can ever compete with the likes of City.

 

It seems a player who suffers a major injury like that very rarely is able to reach the levels they previously were at and Judge has been one of those players for us. Unfortunately for us we've taken too many gambles on players like that over the years

 

What a great experience, sounds absurd after the last few years how good we were

Of course we can compete with our feathered friends up the road

 

5 March 1994. My first game at 14. We were tonked 5-1 by Arsenal. It was cold and we didn’t score-even that was a Lee Dixon og!

but I saw wrighty get a hatrick and the cheer when we did score was intoxicating. I was hooked.

It was hard coming to the club in that period. We were really crap. And Norwich were beating Bayern in Munich... going to school in Suffolk wasn’t easy...

But I got in on the very start of the Burley era and that was fun to go down a level and feel we were on a journey back up with a plan and a system.

I don’t know the ins and outs but even that great period is tinged with sadness as we fell so rapidly from grace. And then the brink of bankruptcy. Why? We were well run I thought. Other teams cope. We’ve been on a downward trajectory ever since.

I suppose being away from Suffolk, not having to watch the crap too closely...but I cannot get the club out of my heart or head. We should represent great things on and off the pitch as our pedigree, fan base and potential warrants that. And fir that reason I can’t stop being an Ipswich fan.

 

We were definitely relegated from the PL at the wrong time. I don't think it's a coincidence that after us and Leicester went down and got in financial difficulty that the PL introduced parachute payments.

I thought it was gong to be similar again with the introduction of a wage cap in League 1 and a race to the bottom, thankfully that didn't transpire otherwise PC certainly wouldn't be saying what he's saying about the players now

 

yes thats a good point, i'd forgotten there was no parachute payments back then. even that though isn't ideal. it creates a two tiered Championship between the clubs getting millions pumped in from the PL for a few years and retaining somme good/well paid players and those like Wycombe going up and having to try and compete with that. its impossible. totally skewed.

 

I remember that game well. The whole stadium was in appreciation of Ian Wright that day. What a player!

 

Completely agree, whilst it would have no doubt helped us I'm sure and probably meant we wouldn't have gone into administration for me its not the right answer.

The money from the PL should be shared more equally down the leagues, so there isn't such a big gap between them

 

The whole PL deal in the first place was a massive land-grab by the “haves” and b****r those lower down the food chain,but that’s ancient history.

 

Just glancing at the Matchday March 2014 programme of the last game I went to see at PR before I got ill.
The likes of Cresswell, Smith, Chambers,Berra, Edwards, Skuse. Murphy, McGoldrick, Mings, Hyam - fine team that was & Murphy equalised and 1-1 score draw with promotion chasing rivals, Mick M manager of course.

Neither of us were promoted.

 

Who were the opponents that day gaffer?

And not long before that the likes of Wickham, Walters and McAuley in the side. Hyam was always undervalued end underrated. He had all the potential that we saw with Woolfy when he first broke into the team.

 

Notts Forest, Hampy, new manager, I recall they were excellent 1st half, we came back strongly in 2nd. Same points, 7th & 8th, 4 off top 6, neither made it!

 

..and not forgetting probably the last decent RB we had in Carlos Edwards. Very underrated imo

 

We were still as dull as ditch water back then though. The last good game I went to where I actually enjoyed watching the football was 12 years ago yesterday, Jim's last game and its not as if I haven't been to quite a few since (maybe not so much in recent years), even when when we were a good team under Mick and had that playoff season it wasn't entertaining to watch, we were just a very solid team with a striker in the form of his life.

Edwards had I think 1 good season at RB, he seemed to be better as an attacking force as a RB than when he played his preferred position on the RW but that didn't take away from his lack of defensive awareness but he made up for that with pace and an attacking threat. I seem to remember Mick played him as a RB a few times and he wasn't as potent (because that's not how Mick sets his teams up) so never played him there again and that was the start of putting Chambers at RB. In my eyes we haven't had a good consistent RB since David Wright who Keane let go on a free transfer (he was also certainly captain material) though KVY could change that if he can stay fit.

 

Priskin’s winner against Arsenal for me all day long. Before that Gio scoring against Norwich at PR.

 

Yes that was the game i was referencing Jim's last game.

I also went to the Arsenal game, good occasion but was a game low in quality

 

Ah Gio...sigh!

 

Wasn't Keane in charge for that FA cup win over Arsenal?

Priskin was a Keane purchase, no?

 

I'd fecking take Priskin over any of our current strikers!!

 

I’d take Dobbin the donkey over our current strikers!!