It’s been another week with more losses – but the double whammy on this occasion is that these have been suffered both on the pitch at Stoke and off the field of play, in the reporting of our latest set of accounts. In all honesty, there’s no surprise in either.
With the club now in debt to the tune of over 95 million as well as rooted to the bottom of the league, our situation is very grave.
As against Nottingham Forest, there’s not too much shame ordinarily in losing to a Stoke City side with such a strong squad. But this is no ordinary situation and only wins can get us out of our situation now.
There must be all kind of runs that would not make good reading at present. A new low of a fourth straight defeat for the first time this season was achieved on Saturday and one such run that I heard over the weekend was that we have picked up just 39 points from our last 46 matches.
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The same number of points over a 46-game season would be sure to relegate any club and it confirms that our problems go back further than the 21 matches played so far this term. Yet the experts still say that we should have been careful what we wished for!
When I look at runs with such malaise, one that sticks out with a completely selfish viewpoint is the fact that I have now seen just one win in the last 19 games that I have been to.
That run stretches back almost a year this weekend and that solitary win was Mick McCarthy’s last game in charge against Barnsley in April.
Having missed our only Saturday home win thus far of 2018 against Leeds in January, a failure to beat Wigan Athletic on Saturday in my presence will mean a whole rolling year will have passed since I last witnessed a Saturday home win.
Whilst I question the entertainment value in owning a season ticket, others question my sanity for continuing to go. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t enjoy the football and if Ipswich were a girlfriend, I would have gotten rid of her years ago!
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But you can’t change your team and the social side of attending games still makes it all worthwhile. Besides, what else would I be doing on a Saturday afternoon?
I do wish however that I could inherit some of the pure positivity portrayed by Paul Lambert. When I listen to his post-match interviews, he certainly talks the talk and is exactly what our young players need.
What they lack in confidence at present, they must surely know their manager has got their back.
I just wish that someone had mine when I go to work on a Monday morning where I am faced with more derision from non-Ipswich fans.
One day, maybe, just maybe, the football gods will turn to us and let us have the last laugh because boy, those of us that continue to stick through this will have earned that moment.
As for Saturday’s opponents Wigan, the last time I saw us play against them at home in the month of December was back in 2004 when on a Tuesday night, and we beat them 2-1.
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I remember the game well as I’d not long since had a knee operation and was still on crutches at the time. This was a top-of-the table clash and when Town scored a late winner, cue mayhem and me losing one of those crutches.
It was found eventually of course, but probably after it had hit someone in the head with me forgetting myself and launching it into the air in celebration.
It could be a lucky omen playing The Latics again in December and if it helps, I’ll even find a pair of crutches to bring with me!
Last Monday’s FA Cup draw was not overly kind to us either. The predicament we currently find ourselves in makes losing to Accrington not so much the cup upset it would usually be.
Still, it will be a good trip to make and a new ground to watch Ipswich at if nothing else.
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